JP2010259655A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush with which a little child can easily brush teeth by himself/herself and a guardian or the like can easily execute finish brushing holding it in a hand as well. <P>SOLUTION: The toothbrush 1 includes a brush portion 2 where bristle bundles are planted on the front surface side of a plantation base 2, a handle portion 3 and a neck part connecting the brush portion 2 and the handle part 3, and the entire length L1 is 120-160 mm. The handle portion 3 has a rear part 31 of the handle portion, where the cross-sectional shape forms a triangular shape and the cross-sectional area is gradually reduced as approaching the direction of the rear end 35 of the handle portion 3 in an area from the vicinity of the axial direction center part to the rear end. The rear part 31 of the handle portion has one corner part (a) of the triangular shape at the width direction center part on the back surface side of the handle portion 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

    The present invention relates to a toothbrush.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a toothbrush in which a handle is provided with a plate as a toothbrush for infants, and the distance from the plate to the tip of the brush is designed to be smaller than the distance from the lips to the throat. This toothbrush easily grips the vicinity of the plate when the infant himself brushes his teeth, and prevents the brush part from being inserted into his throat.

By the way, after having the infants themselves brush their teeth, the parents and toothpaste instructors (hereinafter also referred to as parents, etc.) finish brushing to remove any remaining brushes.
Patent Document 2 discloses a toothbrush in which the cross-sectional shape of the handle is an equilateral triangle having a base on the back side and an apex on the front side in order to facilitate the finish polishing.

JP-A-11-75937 JP 2008-212194 A

  However, since finishing of infants is performed immediately after the infant's own tooth brushing, the toothbrush used by the infant is often used as it is without replacing the toothbrush. Therefore, there is a demand for a toothbrush that is easy for infants to brush their own teeth, and for parents to easily brush their teeth.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can be easily brushed by an infant and can be easily brushed by a guardian or the like.

  The present invention is a toothbrush having a brush part, a handle part, and a neck part connecting the brush part and the handle part, in which a hair bundle is planted on the front side of the flocking table, and has a total length of 120 to 160 mm, The section has a triangular diaper-shaped cross-sectional shape in a region from the vicinity of the central portion in the axial direction to the rear end, and has a handle rear portion that gradually decreases as the cross-sectional area moves toward the rear end of the handle. The handle portion rear portion provides a toothbrush having one corner portion of the triangular rice ball shape at the center in the width direction on the back side of the handle portion.

  The toothbrush of the present invention can be easily brushed by an infant, and can be easily held and polished by a guardian or the like.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the toothbrush of this invention, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right view, (c) is a rear view. It is sectional drawing of the toothbrush shown in FIG. 1, (a) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 1, (b) is the sectional view on the BB line of FIG. 1, (c) is the CC line of FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 1, FIG. 3E is a cross-sectional view taken along the line E-E in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which looked at the toothbrush shown in FIG. 1 from the arrow P direction in Fig.1 (a). It is a perspective view which shows an example of how to hold the infant of the toothbrush shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the other example of how to hold the infant of the toothbrush shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of how a guardian etc. of the toothbrush shown in FIG. 1 hold. It is a perspective view which shows another example of how to hold | maintain the guardian etc. of the toothbrush shown in FIG.

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a view showing an infant toothbrush 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The toothbrush 1 has a brush part 2 in which a hair bundle 22 is implanted on the front side of the flocking table 21, a handle part 3, and a neck part 4 that connects the brush part 2 and the handle part 3. In the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of tuft holes (not shown) are provided on one flat surface of the flocking table 21, and each tuft hole is a bundle of bristle made of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene or nylon. A tuft (hair bundle) is implanted and fixed.
In the present invention, the side of the toothbrush 1 having the bristle bundle 22 (the surface side shown in FIG. 1 (a)) is the front side, and the opposite side (the surface side shown in FIG. 1 (c)) is the back side. And Further, in the axial direction of the handle 3, the neck 4 side (the brush 2 side) is a front end 37, and the end of the handle 3 opposite to the brush 2 is a rear end 35.

  The handle portion 3 is a portion held by the user when the toothbrush 1 is used. The handle portion 3 is wider in front view than the neck portion 4 continuous with the brush portion 2 and is a cross section perpendicular to the axial direction (see FIG. 2). Is also getting bigger. The neck portion 4 has a narrower width in front view than the brush portion 2 and the handle portion 3, and the cross-sectional width perpendicular to the axial direction (see FIG. 2) is also smaller than the handle portion 3.

The toothbrush 1 is a toothbrush for infants. The infant can hold the toothbrush 1 in his / her hand and brush his / her teeth so that it can be easily held by infant guardians (parents, etc.) and toothpaste instructors. Designed.
The toothbrush 1 preferably has a total length L1 [see FIG. 1 (b)] of 120 to 160 mm, and more preferably 130 to 150 mm so that the infant can easily brush his / her teeth. . By setting the total length L1 to 120 mm or more, the hand holding the toothbrush when the infant brushes his / her teeth is difficult to touch the mouth. On the other hand, by setting the total length L1 to 160 mm or less, the infant may accidentally grip the toothbrush with his hand Even if you try to stick your throat, you can prevent the hand holding the toothbrush from hitting your mouth and sticking your throat.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the handle 3 of the toothbrush 1 has a triangular rice ball shape as shown in FIGS. 2 (d) and 2 (e) in the region from the vicinity of the central portion in the axial direction to the rear end 35. None, having a handle portion rear portion 31 whose cross-sectional area gradually decreases toward the rear end 35 of the handle portion 3. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the handle portion 3 of the toothbrush 1 has a handle portion intermediate portion 32 that has a triangular diaper shape and a cross-sectional area that gradually decreases toward the front end 37 of the handle portion 3. The rear part 31 has an adjacent part on the neck 4 side.

Here, the triangular rice ball shape which is the cross-sectional shape of the handle portion 3 is a triangular shape with rounded corners as shown in FIGS. 2 (c) to 2 (e), and each side of the triangle is It may be linear or arcuate. Further, the cross-sectional area is an area of a cross section by a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the toothbrush 1 to the handle part 3, and when the cross section has a hollow part, the cross-sectional area of the hollow part is also Including cross-sectional area.
The triangular rice ball shape which is the cross-sectional shape of the handle portion rear portion 31 and the handle portion intermediate portion 32 in the present embodiment is an isosceles triangle shape with rounded corners, and each side of the isosceles triangle is convex outward. It has a gentle arc shape. Further, in each side of the isosceles triangle, the radius of curvature of the side forming the front surface 31a, 32a of the handle part 3 is larger than the curvature radius of each of the two sides forming the two surfaces on the back side of the handle part 3. .

  As shown in FIGS. 2C to 2E, the handle rear portion 31 and the handle middle portion 32 are each provided with one corner a having a triangular diaper shape, which is a cross-sectional shape of each handle portion. 3 is provided at the center in the width direction on the back side, and the other two corners b, b are provided at both ends on the front side of the handle 3.

  The handle portion rear portion 31 extends from the portion where the cross-sectional area of the handle portion 3 is the maximum (the position of the DD line in FIG. 1, the portion shown in FIG. 2D) to the vicinity of the rear end 35 of the handle portion 3. Is formed. It is preferable that the handle part 3 does not have a bulge or the like having a cross-sectional area larger than the cross-sectional area at the rear end of the handle part rear part 31 on the rear end 35 side from the handle part rear part 31. The handle rear portion 31 in this embodiment has a substantially triangular pyramid shape with the rear end 35 as a vertex when viewed from the direction of arrow P in FIG. 1, that is, from the rear end 35 side of the handle 3 (FIG. 3). reference).

Further, the handle portion rear portion 31 has a length L31 along the longitudinal direction of the handle portion 3 of 25 mm or more, particularly 45 mm or more, from the viewpoint of ease of holding when a guardian or the like finishes and polishes, From the same viewpoint, the length L31 is preferably 15 to 35%, particularly 20 to 30% of the total length L1 of the toothbrush 1.
Further, the boundary portion (the position of the DD line in FIG. 1) between the handle portion rear portion 31 and the handle portion intermediate portion 32 is such that the distance L31 ′ from the rear end 35 of the handle portion 3 is the total length L1 of the toothbrush 1. It is preferable that it exists in the position used as 20-40%, especially 25-35%.

  In addition, the handle portion 3 is the front end of the handle portion rear portion 31 and the rear end of the handle portion intermediate portion 32, and the front side surface at the boundary portion between them (the portion where the cross-sectional area of the handle portion 3 is maximum). The ratio (T31 / W31) between the thickness T31 between the rear surface and the width W31 of the handle in the front view and the rear view is 0.4 to 1.2, particularly 0.6 to 1.0. It is preferable.

The handle middle portion 32 is formed from the portion where the cross-sectional area of the handle portion 3 is the maximum (the position of the DD line in FIG. 1, the portion shown in FIG. 2D) to the vicinity of the constricted portion 33 described later. Has been. In the handle portion intermediate portion 32 in the handle portion 3 of the present embodiment, the outer peripheral surface is smoothly continuous with the outer peripheral surface of the handle portion rear portion 31. Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 (c), the said corner | angular part a located in the back side center part of the triangular rice ball-shaped handle part which is the cross-sectional shape of the handle part intermediate part 32 and the handle part back part 31 is a handle part. 3 is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction, and a ridge line 36 continuously extending across the handle intermediate part 32 and the handle rear part 31 is formed. As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the ridge line 36 is curved in a circular arc shape that bulges outward as viewed from the side, and the ridge line 36 has the highest height, that is, the front side surface of the handle portion 3. A portion having the largest thickness T3 (see FIG. 1B) between the back side surface and the portion having the largest cross-sectional area of the handle portion 3 coincide with each other.
The handle portion intermediate portion 32 has a length L32 along the longitudinal direction of the handle portion 3 of 10 to 30%, particularly preferably 15 to 25% of the total length L1 of the toothbrush 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the handle portion 3 of the toothbrush 1 has a cross-sectional area between the handle portion front portion 34 continuous with the neck portion 4 and the handle portion intermediate portion 32. It has the narrow part 33 smaller than the cross-sectional area of each part 32. The constricted portion 33 has a width W3 of the handle portion 3 in the front view and the rear view, the maximum width of the handle portion 3 in the handle portion front portion 34, and the maximum width of the handle portion 3 in the handle portion intermediate portion 32 or the handle portion rear portion 31. Is much smaller.
By having the constricted part 33, the ease of holding when the infant brushes himself is improved.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the constricted portion 33 has an elliptical cross-sectional shape, and the thickness T3 between the front surface 33a and the back surface 33b is a handle portion in the front view and the back view. 3 is smaller than the width W3. The ratio (T3 / W3) between the thickness T3 and the width W3 in the constricted portion 33 is preferably 0.4 or more and less than 1.0, and particularly preferably 0.5 or more and 0.9 or less.
In the handle portion 3 of the toothbrush 1, the handle portion rear portion 31 extends from the vicinity of the rear end 35 to the portion having the largest cross-sectional area, and the handle portion rear portion 31 extends to the constricted portion 33 having the smallest cross-sectional area. 32, from the constricted part 33 to the neck part 4 is the handle part front part 34.

The handle front part 34 preferably has a flat cross-sectional shape having a maximum cross-sectional area smaller than the maximum cross-sectional areas of the handle part intermediate part 32 and the handle part rear part 31 and has a flat width W34 larger than the thickness T34. It is preferable to have.
With the handle portion front portion 34 having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 4, when the infant has the toothbrush 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the handle portion 3 is held in the palm of the hand (hereinafter referred to as palm). (Also called a grip) can be induced, and insertion of the toothbrush 1 into the throat can be effectively prevented or reduced.
The handle portion front portion 34 has a ratio (T34 / W34) between the thickness T34 between the front surface 34a and the back surface 34b and the handle width W34 in the front view and the back view (T34 / W34). .9, particularly 0.4 to 0.7.
Moreover, it is preferable that the distance L34 [refer FIG.1 (b)] from the front-end | tip part 34 of the brush part side of the toothbrush 1 is 40-70 mm, It is preferable that it is 50-60 mm. By making the distance L34 40 mm or more, it is possible to make it difficult for the hand holding the toothbrush 1 during brushing to hit the mouth. By making the distance L34 70 mm or less, the toothbrush 1 is mistakenly placed in the throat of the oral cavity. Even if it is inserted in the direction, since the hand holding the toothbrush 1 hits the mouth, it is possible to prevent the throat from being pushed.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the infant palm grips the handle portion 3, the handle portion front portion 34 abuts the belly of the infant's thumb 5.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the toothbrush 1 of this embodiment can be held firmly by an infant holding the handle 3 so as to wrap the handle 3 in the palm of the hand. When the infant holds this way (palm grip), the handle rear portion 31 and the handle middle portion 32 are integrally held by hand, but the handle middle portion 32 in addition to the handle rear portion 31. It can suppress effectively that the handle | pattern part 3 moves to a thumb direction or a little finger direction during tooth brushing. Moreover, since the narrow part 33 of the structure mentioned above can be pinched | interposed between the index finger 6 turned to the back side, and the thumb 5, and the movement can be restrained, the toothbrush 1 can be held still more firmly.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment has an infant holding the pencil around the handle middle portion 32 of the handle 3 in a manner of holding a pencil (hereinafter also referred to as a pen grip). It can also be used.
Even when the infant holds the way shown in FIG. 5, the stomach of the index finger 6 is brought into contact with the front surface 32 a [see FIG. By bringing the thumb 5 and the middle finger 7 into contact with the other two surfaces of the ridge line 36, the handle intermediate part 32 can be firmly restrained, so that the toothbrush 1 is firmly held in the hand and the toothbrushing is performed efficiently. Can do.

On the other hand, when the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment is used, when an infant guardian, such as a mother or father, or a toothpaste instructor, brushes the infant's teeth, the guardian, 6 and 7, the handle portion rear portion 31 of the toothbrush 1 is used by holding it with a pencil (pen grip).
FIG. 6 shows a situation in which the infant's guardian or the like finishes and polishes the front surface of the upper teeth of the infant. In FIG. 6, a front surface 31a of the handle rear portion 31 [FIG. e), the side surface of the middle finger 7 is brought into contact with the other side of the ridge line 36 of the handle rear portion 31, and the belly of the thumb 5 and the belly of the middle finger 6 are brought into contact with each other. FIG. 7 shows a state in which a guardian or the like finishes and polishes the back surface of the upper teeth of the infant. In FIG. 7, a front surface 31a of the handle rear portion 31 [FIG. 2 (e)]. The abdomen of the thumb 5 is brought into contact with the other side of the ridgeline 36 of the handle rear part 32, and the abdomen of the index finger 6 and the abdomen of the middle finger 6 are brought into contact with each other.

  The handle rear portion 31 has a shape in which the cross-sectional shape is a triangular rice ball shape, and the cross-sectional area gradually decreases toward the rear end 35 of the handle portion 3. In this case, the shape is similar to a triangle formed between the thumb 5, the index finger 6 and the middle finger 7. Therefore, by pen gripping the handle rear portion 31 with three fingers, a part of the handle rear portion 31 can be reliably restrained, and the finishing of the infant's teeth can be stably performed. . Further, since the toothbrush 1 can be easily rotated or swung while a part of the handle rear portion 31 is firmly supported by the three fingers 5 to 7, a small force and fine movement can be applied to the toothbrush 1. It is easy to convey and finish polishing can be done easily and efficiently.

When pen gripping the handle portion rear portion 31, the supporting finger is arranged on the front side of the toothbrush 1 so as to keep the distance between the brush and the teeth, and the other two fingers are arranged on the back side. Thus, rotation and swinging can be performed efficiently.
If one corner a of the triangular rice ball shape which is the cross-sectional shape of the handle portion rear portion 31 is in the center portion in the width direction on the front side of the handle portion 3, the finger to be supported by the corner portion a on the front side It will be in contact with the belly of (the thumb 5 or the middle finger 7), and it becomes difficult to perform a pen grip stably in the finish polishing. In the toothbrush 1, since one corner “a” of the triangular rice ball shape which is a cross-sectional shape of the handle portion rear portion 31 is in the center portion in the width direction on the back side of the handle portion 3, it should be supported on the front side. The brush 1 is stably supported by the fingers (thumb 5 or middle finger 7), and the other two fingers are guided to the two side surfaces of the ridge portion 36 formed by the corners a on the back side. Thereby, a stable pen grip with three fingers is possible.

  In the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment, as described above, the cross-sectional shape of the handle rear portion 31 is an isosceles triangle with rounded corners, and each side of the isosceles triangle is the front of the handle 3. Since the radius of curvature of the side forming the side surface 31a is larger than the radius of curvature of each of the two sides forming the two surfaces on the back side of the handle portion 3, the pen grip with the thumb 5 or the middle finger 7 in contact with the surface 31a The stability and the ease of brushing operation are further improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified as appropriate. For example, the constricted portion 33 between the handle portion front portion 34 and the handle portion intermediate portion 32 may not be provided. Further, instead of the handle middle portion 32, a handle middle portion having a flat elliptical cross-sectional shape and a sectional area gradually decreasing toward the front end 37 of the handle portion is provided on the neck side of the handle rear portion 31. Also good. The handle middle part 32 may be formed so as to cover the entire area between the handle rear part 31 and the neck 4, or the handle rear part 31 continues to the rear end 35 of the handle 3. It may be extended.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the toothbrush 1 is provided with anti-slip portions 8 and 9 using elastomer on the back side of the handle portion 3 and the front side of the handle portion front portion 34. Yes. One or both of the non-slip portions 8 and 9 can be omitted. In addition to one or both of the non-slip portions 8 and 9, a similar non-slip portion can be provided at another portion. It can also be provided. The anti-slip portions 8 and 9 in the toothbrush 1 are formed with a concave portion on the surface of a toothbrush body made of synthetic resin, and a non-slip material made of an elastomer material is fitted into the concave portion and known means (adhesive, etc.) By fixing the fitted state.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a toothbrush that can be easily brushed by an infant and that can be easily brushed by a guardian or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toothbrush 2 Brush part 3 Handle part 31 Handle part back part 32 Handle part middle part 33 Constricted part 34 Handle part front part 35 Handle part rear end 4 Neck part 5 Thumb 6 Index finger 7 Middle finger

Claims (4)

A toothbrush having a brush part in which a hair bundle is implanted on the front side of the flocking table, a handle part, and a neck part that connects the brush part and the handle part,
The total length is 120-160mm,
The handle has a handle rear portion that has a triangular rice cake shape in a region from the vicinity of the central portion in the axial direction to the rear end, and the cross-sectional area gradually decreases toward the rear end of the handle. The handle portion rear portion has one corner portion of the triangular rice ball shape at the center portion in the width direction on the back side of the handle portion.   The handle portion has a triangular rice pad shape in cross-sectional shape, and has a handle portion intermediate portion that gradually decreases as the cross-sectional area goes toward the front end of the handle portion, in the adjacent portion on the neck side of the handle portion rear portion, The toothbrush according to claim 1.   The handle portion has a constricted portion having a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional areas of the handle portion front portion and the handle portion intermediate portion between the handle portion front portion continuous to the neck portion and the handle portion intermediate portion. The toothbrush according to claim 2.   The handle portion front portion has a ratio (T34 / W34) of the thickness T34 between the front surface and the back surface to the handle width W34 in the front view and the back view (T34 / W34). The toothbrush in any one of Claims 1-3 which is.

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