JP2002191434A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush having improved cleaning performance by making it possible to freely change a shape of a gripping part of the toothbrush according to the difference of a gripping manner or the size of fingers of each person so that easiness of holding of the gripping part, which is an important performance of the toothbrush, is improved, and provide the toothbrush having great freedom of designs or shapes by enabling separate forming of a shaft part and cylindrical bodies. SOLUTION: This toothbrush is provided with a head part 1, a neck part 2, and a gripping part 3 wherein the gripping part 3 comprises a stick-shaped shaft part 4 and a plurality of cylindrical bodies 5 which are removably fitted to a circumference thereof. The position of the cylindrical bodies 5 can be replaced in front and the rear.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gripping portion comprising a rod-shaped shaft portion and a plurality of cylindrical members fitted to the shaft portion, and by changing the direction of the cylindrical members and the combination of the cylindrical members. The present invention relates to a toothbrush that can freely change the shape of a gripping portion according to user's preference and usability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional toothbrushes have been provided with various gripping shapes based on a specific gripping method. In addition, a part of the material of the grip portion is made into a sponge shape (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 51-38661), a device having a tubular body gripping aid (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-137331), That can be adjusted (actual opening 63-83
No. 035), one with an auxiliary handle on the grip (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-166041), one with a movable grip on the grip (Tokuhei 2-503876), etc. Attempted toothbrushes have also been proposed.

[0003]

However, when a part of the gripping portion is sponge-like, the shape is deformed into a shape along the palm or the finger by grasping, but the stability is deteriorated and the intraoral state is reduced. Operability may be reduced. Further, the cylindrical body having the gripping assisting tool is a deformation of the handle shape only within an elastically deformable range, and it is difficult to always obtain a satisfactory gripping portion shape. Further, the one that can adjust the length of the grip portion cuts the end of the grip portion, and there is a problem that once cut, the original state cannot be restored. Furthermore, in the case of a tubular body having a gripping assisting device, the gripping portion needs to rotate inside the palm to clean the oral cavity, and the gripping assisting device may hinder the operability. Was.

[0004] As described above, in the prior art, no satisfactory toothbrush suitable for each user's gripping preference or palm size has been found. In addition, from the viewpoint of manufacturing, there are many restrictions on the design and shape in terms of removal of a mold and restrictions on molding conditions when manufacturing by ordinary two-color injection molding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem. The present invention has been made in order to make it possible to freely change the shape of the toothbrush gripping portion according to the difference in gripping method and the size of the fingers of the individual using the toothbrush. It is an object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush with improved cleaning performance by improving the ease of gripping a grip portion, which is important as performance. It is another object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush in which a shaft portion and a cylindrical body can be separately formed, and which has excellent design and shape flexibility.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a toothbrush having a head portion, a neck portion and a grip portion, the grip portion being detachably fitted around a rod-shaped shaft portion. It is constituted by a plurality of combined cylindrical bodies, and the positions of the cylindrical bodies can be interchanged. Preferably, the shaft has a mechanism for regulating the position of the fitted cylindrical body. Preferably, the cylindrical body is made of an elastic body.

In the case of the toothbrush having the above structure, the shape and size of a plurality of cylindrical bodies, the front and rear positions in the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush, and the like can be freely combined to adjust the shape of the gripping portion to the size of the palm or finger of the user. It can be formed into an optimal shape, improving operability during brushing,
Cleaning efficiency can be increased.

It is preferable that the cylindrical body has at least two kinds of shapes and two or more sizes. Further, it is preferable that the length of the grip portion can be adjusted according to the user.

Further, it is desirable that the head portion and the neck portion be detachable and replaceable. Further, it is preferable that at least a part of the head portion and the neck portion are made of an elastic body.

There is no particular limitation on the number of cylindrical bodies fitted to the shaft part, and the size and shape in the longitudinal and width directions of the toothbrush, but the number of cylindrical bodies is preferably 2 to 15, The number is preferably 2 to 12, more preferably 3 to 10.

The thickness of each cylindrical body in the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush is preferably 3 to 150 mm, more preferably 5 to 150 mm.
To 100 mm, more preferably 10 to 50 mm. The size (outer diameter size) of each cylindrical body in the direction orthogonal to the toothbrush longitudinal direction is preferably 3 to 30 m.
m, more preferably 5 to 25 mm, even more preferably 7
It is desirable to set it to 20 mm.

With respect to the shape of the cylindrical body, the shape viewed from the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush may be a round shape, a polygonal shape, a shape having rounded corners of a polygon, or an irregular shape. Also, the shape of the toothbrush viewed from the side may be a round shape, a polygonal shape, a shape with rounded corners, or an irregular shape. The shape of the shaft portion may be formed in the same shape according to the cylindrical body.

[0013] The size of the through hole in the cylindrical body is preferably equivalent to a diameter of 2 to 20 mm, more preferably a diameter of 4 to 15 mm.
Equivalent, more preferably equivalent to a diameter of 6 to 10 mm.

Further, when the cylindrical body is inserted into the shaft portion, it may be inserted from either side of the through hole of the cylindrical body. By changing the shape, it is possible to obtain two shapes of the grip portion in one shape.

Furthermore, if the through-hole of the cylindrical body is tapered, the insertability of the cylindrical body into the shaft can be improved, and the handleability can be improved. Also, when inserting the cylindrical body into the shaft, if the cylindrical body and the shaft are wetted with water or the like in advance, the sliding of the cylindrical body and the shaft can be improved, and the work of replacing the cylindrical body is performed. Can be further improved.

The material of the hard resin portion is not particularly limited, but preferably has a flexural modulus of 1000 MPa to 2500 MPa, for example, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PE).
T), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (AB
Resins such as S), cellulose propionate (CP), polyarylate, polycarbonate, and acrylonitrile styrene (AS) can be used alone or as a mixture. However, polypropylene is preferred from the viewpoint of moldability and cost.

The soft resin portion is made of a material having a hardness of 5
~ 100 (JIS K6253 hardness test, test conditions JI
SA), preferably 20 to 60, for example, polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, polyester-based thermoplastic elastomer, 1,2-polybutadiene-based thermoplastic elastomer, ethylene-vinyl acetate-based thermoplastic elastomer, polyvinyl chloride-based thermoplastic elastomer A thermoplastic elastomer, a natural rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer, a fluorine-based thermoplastic elastomer, a trans-polyisoprene-based thermoplastic elastomer, or the like can be used.

The toothbrush of the present invention is used by appropriately combining the above-mentioned materials. However, due to the physical properties, price, and mutual compatibility required for the toothbrush material, a polypropylene resin and a polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, or a polypropylene resin and a polystyrene-based thermoplastic elastomer are used. It is preferable to use a combination of plastic elastomers. For example, as a polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer) is selected as a rubber component, and a polypropylene resin is selected as a hard component, and these are blended and partially or wholly crosslinked. Is used. Further, instead of the thermoplastic elastomer, a thermoplastic silicone resin obtained by two-component mixture injection may be used.

The shaft portion and the cylindrical body are provided with a mechanism for restraining the mutual position. For example, the cross section of the shaft portion and the shape of the through-hole of the cylindrical body are changed to a shape other than a round shape. By adopting a means for penetrating or providing a key groove and a key for fixing, the cylindrical body fitted to the shaft is prevented from rotating.

Further, a stopper mechanism is provided at the shaft end,
It is desirable to restrict the movement of the cylindrical body in the longitudinal direction of the axis and to prevent the axial displacement of the cylindrical body. In addition, if the tightness of the fitting of the through hole of the shaft and the cylindrical body is arbitrarily selected and the cylindrical body is fitted with such tightness that it does not move easily, it can be used during brushing without a stopper mechanism. It is also possible to prevent the cylindrical body from shifting or coming off.

Further, if the shaft portion is made to be split or extendable and the length of the grip portion can be adjusted as desired,
Furthermore, it is possible to adapt to the gripping method of the individual and the size of the fingers, so that the operability is further improved and the cleaning function can be further improved.

The arrangement of the hair bundles, the length of the brushes, the hair cutting shape, and the material of the brushes in the head-flocked portion can be arbitrarily selected according to the specifications.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show one embodiment of a toothbrush according to the present invention. 1 is a side view showing the entire structure of the toothbrush according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the toothbrush of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are different grips of the toothbrush of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example at the time of making it into a partial shape.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a head on which a hair bundle is implanted, 2 denotes a neck, and 3 denotes a grip. The grip portion 3 is a rod-shaped shaft portion 4 whose base portion has a circular cross section. The shaft portion 4 has a plurality of (15 in the illustrated example) donut-shaped cylinders of various sizes. It is the one in which the shape 5 is fitted.

In this example, the head 1, the neck 2 and the shaft 4 are made of a hard resin, for example, a polypropylene resin, while the tubular body 5 is made of a thermoplastic elastomer, for example, a polyolefin-based material, for providing elasticity. It is composed of a thermoplastic elastomer.

The donut-shaped tubular body 5 is prepared in various sizes, and has a size such that the center thereof is tightly fitted to the shaft portion 4 so as not to be displaced. A through hole 6 is formed. Also, the shaft 4
A locking projection 7 for regulating the position of the tubular body 5 on the neck side is formed at the base end on the neck side.

In the toothbrush of the present invention having the above structure, after the toothbrush is purchased, the tubular body 5 is temporarily removed from the shaft portion 4 and then the toothbrush is purchased.
Decompose as follows. Then, the plurality of cylindrical bodies 5 are rearranged in an order that most closely conforms to the shape of the palm or finger of the toothbrush user, and inserted into the shaft portion 4 and fitted in accordance with the rearranged order.

As described above, by freely combining the size and the position of the cylindrical body 5 fitted to the shaft portion 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 or FIG. The shape of the grip portion 3 can be freely changed while using the state body 5.

Therefore, it is possible to freely form the shape of the toothbrush handle according to the user's preference, gripping method, and finger size, thereby improving the operability during brushing and the cleaning efficiency. it can.

In the above-described embodiment, the shape of the cylindrical body 5 is a donut shape, and the shape of the shaft portion 4 is also circular in cross section in accordance with this. However, the shapes of the shaft portion 4 and the cylindrical body 5 are not limited to this. However, various shapes can be adopted as described above. As an example, FIG. 5 shows some other examples of the cross-sectional shape of the shaft portion 4, FIG. 6 shows some other examples of the side shape of the cylindrical body 5, and FIG. Several other examples of the front shape are shown.

In the above embodiment, the cylindrical member 5 is tightly fitted to the shaft portion 4 so that the cylindrical member 5 is
However, as illustrated in FIG. 8, a stopper piece 8 for preventing the cylindrical body from falling off is prepared, and this stopper piece 8 is inserted into a screw hole 9 on the rear end face of the shaft portion 4. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the fitting protrusion 1 is screwed into the fitting hole 11 on the rear end face of the shaft portion 4.
2 may be fitted to prevent the tubular body 5 from falling off.

As shown in FIG. 10, extension shafts 14 and 15 are prepared, and the extension shafts 14 and 15 are connected by connecting screws 16 and 17, and the shaft 4 is connected to an arbitrary length. If the length can be extended, the length of the shaft portion 4 can be freely adjusted according to the size of the hand of a user such as an adult or a child.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By arbitrarily selecting the cylindrical body fitted to the shaft of the toothbrush gripper and freely combining its size and position, the gripper shape can be freely changed, and the user's preference and gripping method The toothbrush handle can be freely formed according to the size of the finger. Therefore, an easy-to-use toothbrush excellent in operability and cleaning efficiency can be obtained.
Further, since the shaft portion and the cylindrical body can be formed separately, a toothbrush excellent in the degree of freedom in design and shape can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the entire structure of a toothbrush according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the toothbrush of FIG. 1, wherein (a) is a side view of a toothbrush main body part, (b) is a side view of a cylindrical body part, and (c) is II in (b). FIG. 2D is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the toothbrush of FIG. 1 when the front and rear positions of the tubular body are switched to another different gripping part shape.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the toothbrush of FIG. 1 in a case where the front and rear positions of the tubular body are switched to form another different gripping part shape.

FIGS. 5A to 5Q are diagrams illustrating another example of the cross-sectional shape of the shaft portion.

FIGS. 6 (a) to (r) are diagrams showing another example of the side surface shape of the cylindrical body.

FIGS. 7A to 7M are diagrams showing another example of the front shape of the cylindrical body.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a mounting structure of a stopper piece for preventing a cylindrical body from dropping off at an end face of a shaft portion.

FIG. 9 is a view showing another mounting structure of a stopper piece for preventing a cylindrical body from falling off an end face of a shaft.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an extension structure of a shaft portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head part 2 Neck part 3 Grip part 4 Shaft part 5 Cylindrical body 6 Through-hole 7 Locking projection 8 Stopper piece 14, 15 Extension shaft part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A toothbrush having a head portion, a neck portion, and a grip portion, wherein the grip portion comprises a rod-shaped shaft portion and a plurality of tubular bodies removably fitted around the shaft portion. A toothbrush characterized in that the position of the body can be switched back and forth. 2. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the shaft has a mechanism for regulating the position of the fitted cylindrical body. 3. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical body is made of an elastic body.