JP2010158591A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush which can easily fit bristle tips even to a tooth having a tooth surface with small curvature and sufficiently get bristle tips into interdental parts to sufficiently demonstrate brushing effect. <P>SOLUTION: In the toothbrush 10 where a plurality of bristle tufts 12a and 12b formed of a plurality of bristles 11 are implanted into a bristle implanting base 14, a plurality of outer bristle tufts 12a provided along both side parts of the bristle implanting base 14 in the longitudinal direction X of the toothbrush 10 are implanted in bristle implanting holes 13 with a length not shorter than 2 mm in the longitudinal direction to have a width not narrower than 2 mm, and the tips of the outer bristle tufts 12a are inclined to one side in the longitudinal direction X via tip curved surfaces 16 in an arc shape which is recessed toward the root part side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush in which a plurality of bristles made of bristles are planted on a flocking table and a method for flocking the bristles.

  The toothbrush is formed by fixing a plurality of bristle bristles in a flock hole formed in a flocking table by flat line flocking, fusion flocking, or the like. In addition, since toothbrushes are required to have good cleaning properties for relatively smooth tooth surfaces and good cleaning properties for complicated parts such as interdental parts, these parts are effectively wiped out. As a toothbrush that can be used, by arranging the bristles with the tips cut obliquely in a row in the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush, the so-called crest-shaped chevron is formed on the surface where the bristles are connected. Cut toothbrushes are known.

  However, according to the conventional toothbrush that has been cut into the cuts, the tip of each hair bundle is cut obliquely in a straight line from the ease of processing, etc. The tip surface of the hair bundle is in a contact state close to point contact, and in particular, the brushing effect due to the chevron shape is not sufficiently exhibited in the interdental portion, and it has a tooth surface made of a curved surface with a small curvature such as a canine or a molar. For teeth, it is difficult to fit because the tip of the hair does not hit the tooth surface properly, and the tip of the hair is difficult to enter between the teeth. I could not.

  The present invention makes it possible to easily fit the tip of a tooth having a tooth surface with a small curvature and to sufficiently bring the tip into the interproximal portion so that the brushing effect can be sufficiently exerted. An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush and a method for flocking a hair bundle.

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush in which a plurality of bristle bristles are planted on a flocking table, and at least a part of the bristles is planted in a flocking hole having a length of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush. A toothbrush having a width of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction and the tip of the hair bundle being inclined to one side in the longitudinal direction via an arcuate tip curved surface that is concave on the root side. By providing this, the above-mentioned object is achieved.

  According to the toothbrush of the present invention, the tip of the bristle bundle having a width of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction is inclined to one side in the longitudinal direction via the arcuate tip curved surface that is concave on the root side. Therefore, at the time of brushing, the tip curved surface of the hair bundle becomes easy to be arranged substantially along the tooth surface having a curved surface having the same curvature as this, so that the bristle tips forming the hair bundle can be arranged. It is possible to properly hit the tooth surface over a considerable area, improving the fit to the tooth surface by the tip of the hair bundle, and the tip of the hair bundle is deep at the side edge along the curved surface of the tooth surface. Since it can penetrate | invade easily to a position, it becomes possible to make the bristle tip fully penetrate in the interdental part between the side edge parts of an adjacent tooth, and to improve the cleaning effect.

  In addition, it is preferable that the curvature radius of a front-end | tip curved surface shall be 1.8-3.0 mm. By setting the curvature radius of the distal curved surface to 1.8 to 3.0 mm, the distal curved surface has a curved shape with an intermediate curvature with respect to a plurality of types of teeth including a tooth surface curved with various curvatures. As a result, it is possible to efficiently exhibit the operational effects of having the tip of the hair bundle be an arcuate curved surface.

  Further, according to the toothbrush of the present invention, by providing a plurality of hair bundles having the arcuate tip curved surface in the longitudinal direction along both side portions of the flocking table, it is easier to enter between the teeth, The tip of the hair is more likely to hit the border of the gums, and in addition to the effect of preventing caries, it is possible to prevent periodontal disease.

Furthermore, according to the toothbrush of the present invention, if the tip curved surface is inclined in opposite directions in each pair of hair bundles adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction, the teeth are wrapped from both sides by the pair of tip curved surfaces. A concave portion of a size that can cover the surface is formed at the tip of the hair bundle, and this concave portion allows the tip of the hair bundle to simultaneously contact along the tooth surface over a wider range at the time of cleaning. Is possible.

  A hair bundle having a length of, for example, 8 mm or more in the longitudinal direction and having a tip curved surface of approximately semicircle or more obtained by being depressed in an arc shape so that the tip is concave toward the root portion side is implanted. By placing the hair on the base, a concave portion of a size capable of covering the tooth surface so as to be wrapped from both sides, similar to the above, can be formed at the tip portion of such a hair bundle. Thus, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the toothbrush of the present invention.

  Furthermore, according to the toothbrush of the present invention, each bristle bundle is configured at the time of brushing by alternately providing a pair of bristle bundles adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction while being shifted in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Even if the bristle bends in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to effectively avoid interfering with each other, improving the freedom of movement of the bristle, the curved surface of the tip of the hair bundle and the curved surface of the tooth surface This makes it possible to further improve the fit of the tips of the hair bundles to the tooth surfaces.

  Further, if the bristle having the arcuate tip curved surface is provided with a bristle whose tip portion further protrudes from the apex portion of the tip curved surface to the tip side, the bristles can be more easily placed between the teeth. In addition to being able to enter, it is possible to effectively avoid damage to the gums at the time of brushing by making the tip of the bristle constituting the hair bundle round.

  On the other hand, the present invention is a flocking method for flocking a follicle having the arcuate tip curved surface to a flocking table of the toothbrush by fusing flocking, wherein the follicle is formed in the flocked hole formed in the flocking table. Is inserted from the back side of the flocking table and supported and fixed by the insertion guide plate, the tip of each bristle is brought into contact with a mold having a curved shape along the curved surface of the tip, and then the back side of the flocking table. The above object is achieved by providing a method for flocking a bundle of hairs by fusing the bristle of the protruding portion to the flock.

  According to the toothbrush of the present invention, the tip of the hair can be easily fitted to a tooth having a tooth surface with a small curvature, and the brush tip can be sufficiently inserted into the interdental portion to achieve a sufficient cleaning effect. It can be demonstrated. In addition, according to the method for flocking a hair bundle of the present invention, a hair bundle having an arcuate tip curved surface can be easily implanted on the flocking table of the toothbrush.

It is a principal part perspective view which shows the toothbrush which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a principal part top view of the toothbrush which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is the principal part side view, (c) is an enlarged plan view of a flock hole. It is explanatory drawing which shows the condition which brushes a tooth surface with the toothbrush which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a principal part top view of the toothbrush which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is the principal part side view. It is explanatory drawing of a hair | bristle bundle provided with the circular-arc-shaped front end curved surface which has a bristle in which a front-end | tip part protrudes further to the front end side from the vertex part of a front end curved surface. (A) is a schematic side view for explaining a method for evaluating the plaque removal effect, (b) is a schematic plan view thereof, and (c) is an explanatory view of a brushing angle.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the toothbrush 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of toothbrush bases 14 of a toothbrush body including a gripping part (not shown), a hair root 14, and a neck 15 that connects them. A plurality of hair bundles (tufts) 12 a and 12 b made of the bristle 11 are implanted on the surface of the flocking table 14. In addition, according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a plurality of outer hairs provided in the longitudinal direction X of the toothbrush 10 along both sides of the flocking table 14. The bundle 12a is implanted in a flock hole 13 having a length of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction X and has a width of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction X, and the tips of these outer hair bundles 12a are rooted. It is inclined to one side in the longitudinal direction X via an arcuate tip curved surface 16 that is concave on the part side.

  According to the first embodiment, the toothbrush body is made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene or ABS resin, and the flat surface of the flocking table 14 has a long axis length a along the longitudinal direction X, for example. Oval-shaped flock holes 13 (see FIG. 2 (c)) having a short axis length b of 1.0 mm and a short axis perpendicular to the long axis of 2.0 mm are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction X by about 0.8 mm. Five rows are formed at a total of 20 locations in four rows with an interval of about 1.2 mm in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. The outer hair bundle 12a is provided in each of the five rows of flock holes 13 along the both sides of the flocking table 14, and the inner hair is provided in two rows of each of the flock holes 13 in each of the five flock holes 13. The bundles 12b are each implanted by, for example, fusion implantation.

  The bristle 11 constituting each hair bundle 12a, 12b is a filament material made of a synthetic resin such as nylon and having a thickness of, for example, 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and bundles, for example, several to several tens of wires. Thus, the outer hair bundle 12a and the inner hair bundle 12b are formed.

  As described above, the outer hair bundle 12a is implanted in the flock hole 13 and has a width of, for example, 2 mm in the longitudinal direction X, and the distal end curved surface 16 having an arc shape having a curvature radius of, for example, 2.0 mm. The hair length of the lowest part is 9.0 mm, for example, and the hair height of the lowest part is 11.0 mm, for example. Moreover, according to this embodiment, the front end curved surface 16 of the outer hair bundle 12a is inclined in the opposite direction in each pair of outer hair bundles 12a adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction X. In each of the outer rows of hair bundles 12a along the side portions, U-shaped concave portions 17 having a width of 4 mm or more are formed at two locations across a pair of facing tip curved surfaces 16 respectively. Become.

  On the other hand, the inner hair bundle 12b is planted in the tuft hole 13 and has a width of 2 mm in the longitudinal direction X, for example, and the bristle 11 is evenly aligned with the tip of the bristle 11 being planted with a bristle length of 11.0 mm, for example.

  The outer hair bundle 12a and the inner hair bundle 12b are fused flocks, for example, in a state where the hair bundles 12a and 12b are inserted into the flock holes 13 from the back side of the flock 14 and supported and fixed by the insertion guide plate. The method of fusing the bristle 11 of the part which protruded to the back side of 14 can be employ | adopted. Further, for example, when the hair bundle 12a inserted by the insertion guide plate is supported and fixed, if the tip of each bristle 11 is brought into contact with a mold having a curved shape along the tip curved surface 16, the hair bundle 12a An arcuate tip curved surface 16 can be easily formed at the tip. In addition, by using the metal mold | die which curved shape was formed in step shape, it avoids that each bristle 11 slips along a curved surface, and it contacts effectively, decentering diagonally, and a circular arc-shaped front-end | tip The curved surface 16 can be formed more beautifully. Thus, if the tip curved surface 16 is formed at the same time as fusion flocking, the step of obliquely cutting the tip of the hair bundle after planting can be omitted, and the bristle hair tips constituting the tip curved surface 16 can be omitted. It becomes easy to hold in a round shape, and it becomes possible to effectively avoid the gums from being damaged by the sharp hair ends that are cut.

  According to the toothbrush 10 of the first embodiment, the bristle tip of the bristle 11 can be easily fitted to a tooth having a tooth surface having a small curvature, and the bristle tip of the bristle 11 is provided between the teeth. It is possible to sufficiently exert the brushing effect. That is, according to the toothbrush 10 of the first embodiment, the tip of the outer bristle bundle 12a having a width of 2 mm in the longitudinal direction X is inclined via the arcuate tip curved surface 16, so that FIG. As shown in the drawing, the tip curved surface 16 of the outer hair bundle 12a is easily placed in a state substantially along the tooth surface 18 having a curved surface having the same curvature as that of the outer bristle 12a. The bristles 11 of the bristle 11 constituting the bundle 12a can properly hit the tooth surface 18 over a considerable area. Therefore, even if the tooth surface 18 is a curved surface having a small curvature, the tip of the outer hair bundle 12a is used. A feeling of fitting to the tooth surface 18 can be improved. Moreover, since the front end of the outer hair bundle 12a can easily penetrate to the deep position of the side end along the curved surface of the tooth surface 18, a bristle is formed between the side ends of adjacent teeth. It is possible to improve the brushing effect by allowing the eleven hair ends to penetrate sufficiently.

  Further, according to the toothbrush 10 of the first embodiment, the arcuate tip curved surface 16 is inclined in the opposite direction in each pair of adjacent outer hair bundles 12a and has a U-shaped width of 4 mm or more. Since the concave portion 17 is formed, the concave portion 17 covers the tooth surface 18 so as to be wrapped from both sides, and the tip of the outer hair bundle 12a is simultaneously contacted along the tooth surface 18 over a wider range at the time of cleaning. It becomes possible.

  4 (a) and 4 (b) show a toothbrush 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. According to the toothbrush 20 of the second embodiment, on the flat surface of the flocking table 24, there are a total of 18 locations, 4 in each of the outer rows along both sides, and 5 in the inner two rows. The flocking holes 23 are formed in the outer row, and the flocking holes 23 in the outer row and the flocking holes 23 in the inner row are alternately provided in a staggered manner. In these flocking holes 23, an outer hair bundle 22a having an arcuate tip curved surface 26a at the tip in the outer row, and an inner hair bundle 22b having an arcuate tip curved surface 26b in the tip in the inner row, Each is flocked. As a result, the pair of adjacent hair bundles 22a and 22b that are closest to each other in the longitudinal direction X are staggered in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X.

  In addition, according to the toothbrush 20 of the second embodiment, all of the hair bundles 22a and 22b planted on the flocking table 24 are bent at the tip of the tip of the outer hair bundle 12a of the toothbrush 10 of the first embodiment. The distal end curved surfaces 26a and 26b similar to the surface 16 are provided, and the hair is implanted with the same hair length as the outer hair bundle 12a of the toothbrush 10 of the first embodiment. And while the tip curving surface 26a of the outer bristle bundle 22a is inclined in the longitudinal direction X toward the neck 25 side of the toothbrush 20, the tip curving surface 26b of the inner bristle bundle 22b is in the longitudinal direction X. Since the toothbrush 20 is inclined toward the distal end side opposite to the neck portion 15, when the toothbrush 20 is viewed from the side, the adjacent outer hair bundle 12 a and the distal curved surfaces 26 a and 26 b of the inner hair bundle 22 b are formed. A U-shaped concave portion 27 straddling both the distal curved surfaces 26a and 26b is formed while crossing each other.

  According to the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the pair of hair bundles 22a and 22b adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction X are alternately shifted in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. Therefore, even when the bristle 21 constituting each hair bundle 22a, 22b is bent in the longitudinal direction X at the time of cleaning, it is possible to effectively avoid mutual interference. The degree of freedom of movement is improved and the difference in curvature between the curved surfaces 26a, 26b of the hair bundles 22a, 22b and the curved surfaces of the tooth surfaces is absorbed, whereby the tips of the hair bundles 22a, 22b are applied to the tooth surfaces. It becomes possible to further improve the fit.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, a flocking hole for flocking a hair bundle does not necessarily have an oval shape, but has a shape such as a circle as long as it has a width of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction in addition to a horizontally long shape such as a rectangle or an ellipse. It may be a flocking hole. Moreover, the hair | bristle bundle provided with an arc-shaped front-end | tip curved surface can also be provided only in the center part of the flocking table. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a bristle 11 ′ whose tip portion protrudes further upward from the apex portion of the tip curved surface 16 ′ can be provided on the hair bundle 12 a ′ having the arc-shaped tip curved surface 16 ′. This makes it possible to more easily allow the bristle 11 ′ to enter the interdental portion.

  Hereinafter, the toothbrush of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples.

[Example 1]
About the toothbrush of Example 1 which has the structure similar to the toothbrush 10 of the said 1st Embodiment, the plaque removal force of the center part of a tooth surface and an interdental part, and a feeling of fitting to a tooth surface are evaluated with the following evaluation method. did. A bristle of 203 μm (8 mil) made of nylon 6-12 was used as the bristle, and 36 bundles were made into a bristle bundle. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Comparative Example 1]
About the toothbrush of the comparative example 1 which has the structure similar to Example 1 except having used the same flat hair bundle as the inner side hair bundle 12b which aligned the front-end | tip of the bristle 11 as the outer side hair bundle 12a, The following evaluation methods were used to evaluate the plaque removal force at the center and interdental portions of the tooth surface and the fit to the tooth surface. A bristle of 203 μm (8 mil) made of nylon 6-12 was used as the bristle, and 36 bundles were made into a bristle bundle. Moreover, each hair | bristle bundle was flocked to the flocking table with the hair length of 11.0 mm. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Comparative Example 2]
The toothbrush of Comparative Example 2 having the same configuration as that of Example 1 except that a hair bundle in which the tip is inclined to one side in the longitudinal direction and cut obliquely linearly was used as the outer hair bundle 12a. The evaluation method was used to evaluate the plaque removal force at the center and interdental portions of the tooth surface and the fit to the tooth surface. A bristle of 203 μm (8 mil) made of nylon 6-12 was used as the bristle, and 36 bundles were made into a bristle bundle. Moreover, each outer hair | bristle bundle 12a was flocked to the planting stand so that the hair height of the lowest part might be 9.0 mm, and the hair height of the highest lowest part might be 11.0 mm. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Evaluation of plaque removal power at the center and interdental surfaces of tooth surfaces]
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a large number of cylindrical acrylic rods 51 having a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 50 mm are arranged on the base 50 and fixed in parallel with both sides being in close contact with each other. Thus, a model 52 imitating the interdental part was created. Alcohol ink was applied to the surface of this model with a width of 40 mm as a substitute for plaque, and each toothbrush 53 of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 was bonded to the acrylic stick 51 by a brushing machine under the following predetermined conditions. The brushing was performed in the direction Y that was orthogonal. The residual plaque amount (ink amount) is measured by image analysis to evaluate the plaque removal effect. The conditions for normal brushing were as follows: load 300 g, number of brushes 10 times, speed 100 rpm (100 reciprocations per minute), amplitude 3 cm, and brushing angle (see FIG. 3C) 90 °.

  The residual plaque amount is measured by measuring the alcohol ink removal rate at a brushing width of 10 mm (for two acrylic bars). That is, the acrylic rod 51, which is a tooth model, was vertically divided into three parts, the central part was distinguished as the central part of the tooth surface, and both side parts were determined as interdental parts, and the area where the ink was peeled was measured by image analysis. The evaluation was performed by making the plaque removal rate of Comparative Example 1 100 and performing a relative evaluation based on the ratio.

[Evaluation of fit to tooth surface]
Ten test subjects were asked to use each toothbrush of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 five times while sequentially replacing them, and a hearing survey was conducted on the fit to the tooth surface. When there are 8 or more people out of 10 who feel the fit, “O”, when 4 or more out of 10 and less than 7 are “△”, and when less than 3 out of 10 are “×”, The fit to the tooth surface was evaluated.

  From the evaluation results shown in Table 1 and Table 2, according to the toothbrush of Example 1 according to the present invention, both the plaque removal force at the central part and interdental part of the tooth surface and the fit to the tooth surface are good. It was found that a satisfactory result was obtained.

10, 20 Toothbrush 11 Bristle 11 'Bristle 12a, 22a Outer bristle bundle 12b, 22b Inner bristle bundle 13, 23 Flocking hole 14, 24 Flocking table 15, 25 Neck 16 Tip 16 Curved surface 26a, 26b Tip curved surface 17, 27 Concave X Longitudinal direction of toothbrush

Claims (7)

In a toothbrush in which a plurality of bristle hair bundles are flocked on a flocking table,
At least a part of the bristles is implanted in a flock hole having a length of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush and has a width of 2 mm or more in the longitudinal direction. The toothbrush which inclines in the one side of the said longitudinal direction via the circular-arc-shaped front-end | tip curved surface which became concave at the part side. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of bristle bundles having the arcuate tip curved surface are provided in the longitudinal direction along both side portions of the flocking table. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the distal curved surface is inclined in opposite directions in each pair of bristle bundles adjacent in the longitudinal direction. The toothbrush according to claim 3, wherein each pair of bristle bundles adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction is provided in a staggered manner in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the bristle bundle including the arcuate tip curved surface has a bristle whose tip portion further protrudes from the apex portion of the tip curved surface toward the tip side. The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a bristle that constitutes a bristle bundle having the arcuate tip curved surface has a round tip. A flocking method for flocking a hair bundle having the arcuate tip curved surface by fusing flocking on the flocking table of the toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
When the hair bundle is inserted into the flock hole formed in the flocking table from the back side of the flocking table and supported and fixed by the insertion guide plate, each bristle is attached to a mold having a curved shape along the tip curved surface. A method for flocking hair bundles, wherein the tips are brought into contact with each other, and then the bristle of the portion protruding to the back side of the flocking table is fused to plant the hair.

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