JP2012217468A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush capable of maintaining a high hair transplant strength even if it is made with dense hair by flat wire type hair transplant.SOLUTION: On a hair transplant surface 20 of a head portion 2, a plurality of hair transplant holes 30 are placed so as to overlap with each other in a length direction and a width direction of the head portion 2. The distance between an arbitrary hair transplant hole 30 and another hair transplant hole 30 adjacent to the arbitrary hair transplant hole 30 in the width direction of the head portion 2 is set to 0.3 to 0.8 mm. The distance between an arbitrary hair transplant hole 30 and another hair transplant hole 30 adjacent to the arbitrary hair transplant hole 30 in the length direction of the head portion 2 is set to 0.3 to 0.8 mm. In the hair transplant hole 30, a bundle of hair is implanted using a flat wire 40 and in a planar view, a wire angle θ1 formed by a length direction P1 of the flat wire 40 and a length direction of the head portion 2 is 30 to 60 degrees.

Description

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush.

 Toothbrushes are required to have an oral cleaning feeling, a massage effect, and the like as basic functions, and high value-added toothbrushes have been achieved by improving the basic functions. In order to improve the basic function of the toothbrush, it is common to combine the arrangement and shape of the flock holes, the type and shape of the hair, the hair cutting shape of the hair bundle, and the like.

 In order to improve the cleaning feeling, it is necessary to bring the bristles of the hairs implanted in the head part of the toothbrush into contact with the tooth surface with an appropriate pressure. In order to bring the hair bundle into contact with the tooth surface with an appropriate pressure, the so-called “tight hair specification” is used to increase the total number of hair bundles to be implanted on the flocking surface of the head portion and the number of hair bundles per unit area. Is effective. By adopting dense hair specifications, the tip of the hair always comes into contact with the point where it is desired to polish during cleaning, and it is easy to give a feeling of cleaning with appropriate hair and waist.

 By the way, as a method of manufacturing a toothbrush, there is a flat-wire type flocking in which a bunch of hair is folded in half and a flat wire sandwiched between the bunch is driven into a flocking hole to plant the bristles. In flat line type flocking, a flat line is driven into a flocked hole so that the angle formed by the length direction of the head portion and the length direction of the flat line is about 15 ° in plan view. In order to manufacture toothbrushes with dense hair specifications with this flat wire type flocking, it is necessary to bring the flocking holes close to each other, but if the flocking holes are too close, the strength of the head part will decrease and the head part will easily break Or whitening easily when driving a flat wire. On the other hand, if the flock holes are moved away, the number of hair bundles per unit area decreases, and it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory cleaning feeling.

To solve these problems, toothbrushes have been proposed in which the flock holes are arranged in a staggered arrangement, and the anchor driving angle for fixing the hair bundle to the flock holes is approximately 0 ° or 90 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the flocking table (for example, Patent Document 1).
Further, a toothbrush has been proposed in which a flat line driven into the head portion has a flat line angle of at least three directions (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-189940 A JP 2001-314231 A

However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the flocking pattern is limited to a staggered arrangement. Moreover, with the technique of patent document 2, while a special flocking apparatus is required, productivity falls.
In addition, toothbrushes planted by conventional techniques tend to reduce the planting strength, while preventing cracking and whitening of the head portion. In particular, in a toothbrush in which the hair bundle diameter of one hair bundle is reduced in order to improve the softness of contact and the penetration of the hair ends into narrow parts such as interdental parts and gum parts, the flocking strength tends to decrease. . Moreover, in the toothbrush of the dense hair specification with which the head part was comprised with the low intensity | strength material, the fall of the flocking strength is remarkable.
In addition, for example, when the head portion is made of a high-strength material such as acid-modified polycyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate copolymer (PCTA), colors and the like are limited.
Therefore, a toothbrush that can maintain high flocking strength even with dense hair specification by flat wire flocking is aimed.

In the toothbrush of the present invention, a plurality of flocked holes are formed on the flocked surface of the head part, and the flocked holes are arranged so that the flocked holes overlap in the width direction of the head part, and the flocked holes are The distance between an arbitrary flocked hole and another arbitrary flocked hole adjacent to the arbitrary flocked hole in the width direction of the head part is 0.3 to 0. 8 mm, and the distance between an arbitrary flocked hole and another arbitrary flocked hole adjacent to this arbitrary flocked hole in the length direction of the head portion is 0.3 to 0.8 mm, and In the pores, a bundle of hairs is planted by a flat flat wire, and in the plan view, all the flat wires are inclined in the same direction with respect to the length direction of the head portion. The angle formed by the length direction of the head portion and the length direction of the head portion is 30 to 60 °. .
The head portion preferably has a bending strength measured according to ISO178 of 60 MPa or less, and the diameter of the flocked hole is preferably 1.0 to 1.5 mm.

  According to the toothbrush of the present invention, a high flocking strength can be maintained even with dense hair specifications by flat wire flocking.

It is a top view of a toothbrush concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the toothbrush concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of a toothbrush concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial top view explaining the flat line angle of the toothbrush of an Example or a comparative example.

The toothbrush concerning one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings below.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a toothbrush 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and for the sake of convenience of explanation, illustration of a hair bundle is omitted.
The toothbrush 1 includes a long handle portion 3 and a head portion 2 extended to the handle portion 3 (hereinafter, the head portion and the handle portion may be collectively referred to as a handle body). A substantially columnar hair bundle is planted on the flocked surface 20. In the figure, reference numeral O <b> 1 is a center line indicating the length direction of the head portion 2.

  The head part 2 is substantially rectangular with the center line O1 direction of the head part 2 extending from the boundary (head end of the head part) 22 to the tip (head part tip) 22 of the head part 2 as the longitudinal direction.

In the flocked surface 20, a total of 30 flocked holes 30 that are substantially circular in plan view are formed in order of 2 × 1 row, 4 × 7 rows in order from the head portion tip 22. In this article, “row” is a unit of the flocked holes 30 arranged in the width direction of the head portion 2, and the number of rows is arranged in the length direction of the head portion 2. Means a number. The “width direction” is a direction substantially orthogonal to the center line O1 in plan view.
In the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment, the flocked holes 30 overlap with each other in the width direction of the head portion 2 (that is, the center of the flocked hole 30 is located in an arbitrary linear shape in the width direction of the head portion 2). Are arranged so as to overlap in the length direction of the head portion 2 (that is, the center of the flock hole 30 is located on an arbitrary straight line in the length direction of the head portion 2), It is formed in a grid pattern.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, in the flocked hole 30, a hair bundle 50 in which bristles are bundled is planted by a flat line 40 that is folded in two and sandwiched between the flat lines 40. It is provided so as to straddle the diameter direction.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, all the flat lines 40 incline in the same direction with respect to the centerline O1 in planar view.

In the present embodiment, the head portion 2 and the handle portion 3 are integrally formed in a long shape as a whole, and are obtained, for example, by injection molding using a resin as a material.
The material of the handle body is, for example, PCTA, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate (PCT), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS) , Cellulose propionate (CP), polyarylate, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile / styrene copolymer resin (AS), and the like. These can be used individually by 1 type or in combination of 2 or more types.
The handle portion 3 may be partially or entirely covered with a flexible resin such as an elastomer.

The resin constituting the handle body, that is, the resin constituting the head portion 2 is not particularly limited. For example, the bending strength is preferably 60 MPa or less, more preferably 50 MPa or less, and further preferably 45 MPa or less. This is because as the bending strength of the resin is smaller, the flocking strength tends to be lower, and the effects of the present invention are remarkably exhibited. In addition, generally, a resin having a high bending strength is expensive and tends to be economically disadvantageous.
The lower limit value of the bending strength of the resin constituting the handle body is preferably 19 MPa or more, for example. If it is less than the lower limit, the handle body may bend too much during cleaning of the oral cavity and the operability may be impaired.
The bending strength is a value measured by the following method according to ISO178.
A test piece (thickness 4 mm × width 10 mm × length 80 mm) is passed over two fulcrums (distance between fulcrums: 64 mm), and the test piece is pressed with an indenter at a position that bisects the two fulcrums (test speed: 2 mm) / Min). The strength associated with the displacement of the indenter is measured, the elastic modulus is obtained in a region where the linear relationship between the displacement and the strength is established, and the bending strength (MPa) is obtained from the strength at the yield point.

The bending elastic modulus of the resin constituting the handle body, that is, the resin constituting the head portion 2 is, for example, preferably 1900 MPa or less, more preferably 1800 MPa or less, and further preferably 1500 MPa or less. This is because as the bending elastic modulus of the resin is smaller, the flocking strength tends to be lower, and the effects of the present invention are remarkably exhibited. For example, the lower limit value of the flexural modulus of the resin constituting the handle body is preferably 1100 MPa or more. If it is less than the lower limit, the handle body may bend too much during cleaning of the oral cavity and the operability may be impaired.
The flexural modulus is a value measured according to ISO178.

 Examples of the resin having a bending strength of 60 MPa or less include polyolefins such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). For example, J700GP (product name: Idemitsu polypropylene, flexural strength: 41 MPa, flexural modulus: 1400 MPa, Idemitsu Petrochemical Co., Ltd.), WP638C (product name: nobrene, bending strength; 50 MPa, bending elastic modulus: 1900 MPa, manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.), and the like.

 The size of the head portion 2 can be determined in consideration of the operability in the oral cavity, for example, the width is 10 to 15 mm, and the thickness is 4 to 8 mm.

The larger the opening diameter R1 of the flock hole 30 is, the thicker the hair bundle 50 becomes, and it becomes easier to give a feeling of cleaning, but the fluff becomes too hard and it becomes difficult to clean narrow portions such as interdental portions. The smaller the opening diameter R1 of the flocking hole 30 is, the thinner the hair bundle 50 becomes and the easier it is to clean the narrow part such as the interdental part, but the fur and hips become too soft and may not give a good cleaning feeling. is there.
Therefore, the opening diameter R1 of the flocking hole 30 can be determined in consideration of the type of hair, etc., for example, 1 to 1.5 mm is preferable, and 1 to 1.2 mm is more preferable. If it is less than the above lower limit, it is difficult to plant the hair bundle 50 by flat-line type flocking. If it exceeds the above upper limit value, the hair bundle 50 is difficult to bend when the dense hair specification is adopted, and there is a possibility that it becomes difficult to clean a narrow portion such as an interdental portion or the flocking strength is lowered. In the toothbrush with R1 of 1 to 1.5 mm, the effect of the present invention is particularly remarkable.
The opening diameters R1 of all the flocking holes 30 may be the same or different from each other.

 The depth D1 (FIG. 2) of the flocking hole 30 can be determined in consideration of the thickness of the head portion 2, the opening diameter of the flocking hole 30, and the like, and is preferably 2 to 5 mm, for example. If the depth D1 is less than the lower limit value, the hair bundle 50 may be easily removed, and if the depth D1 exceeds the upper limit value, the strength of the head portion 2 may be reduced.

  The distance (width direction distance) A1 between the flock holes 30 in the width direction of the head portion 2 is 0.3 to 0.8 mm, and more preferably 0.3 to 0.5 mm. If it exceeds the above upper limit value, it will be difficult to achieve dense hair specifications, and if it is less than the above lower limit value, the head part 2 will crack or whiten.

 A distance (length direction distance) A2 between the flock holes 30 in the length direction of the head portion 2 is 0.3 to 0.8 mm, and more preferably 0.5 to 0.7 mm. If it exceeds the above upper limit value, it will be difficult to achieve dense hair specifications, and if it is less than the above lower limit value, the head part 2 will crack or whiten.

 The width direction distance A1 and the length direction distance A2 are preferably A1 <A2. If A1 <A2, the distance between the flat wires 40 can be increased, and the flocking strength can be kept higher.

 The flat wire 40 has a flat plate shape, and examples of the material include metals such as stainless steel and brass, and hard plastics.

 The length L1 of the flat wire 40 only needs to be longer than the opening diameter R1 of the flock hole 30, and is, for example, 0.4 to 1 mm longer than the opening diameter R1.

The angle (flat line angle) θ1 formed by the length direction (flat line direction) P1 of the flat line 40 and the center line O1 is 30 to 60 °, preferably 40 to 50 °, more preferably about 45 °. is there. By setting the flat line angle θ within the above range, the distance between the flat lines 40 can be increased, and the head portion 2 can be prevented from being weakened. As a result, it is possible to make it difficult for the hair bundle 50 to come off.
In the present embodiment, the flat line angle θ1 is an inferior angle formed on the proximal end side of the head portion among the angles formed by the flat line direction P1 and the center line O1.

  The flat line angles θ1 may all be substantially the same or may be different from each other. However, in order to make the flocking strength more appropriate, it is preferable that all the flat line angles θ1 are substantially equal. In addition, that the flat line angle θ1 is substantially equal means that the difference in the flat line angle is within a range of ± 1 °.

  The bristles constituting the hair bundle 50 are bristles (taper hairs) whose diameter gradually decreases toward the bristles, and bristles (straight bristles) having the same outer diameter except for the rounded portion of the bristles. Is mentioned.

The material of the hair is, for example, polyamide such as 6-12 nylon or 6-10 nylon, PET, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polybutylene naphthalate ( Polyesters such as PBN), polyolefins such as PP, olefin elastomers, styrene elastomers (elastomers) and the like can be used.
These resins may be used singly or in appropriate combination of two or more. Among them, a mixture of a plurality of polyesters can be easily strengthened and the plaque scraping property becomes higher. Is preferred.
Examples of the bristle include polyester bristle having a core-sheath structure having a core part and at least one or more sheath parts provided outside the core part. If the core-sheath structure is used, different polyesters can be used for the core part and the sheath part, so that the mechanical properties can be easily adjusted. For this reason, it is possible to easily obtain hair having a strong waist and a higher plaque scraping property.

 The cross-sectional shape of the bristle can be determined according to the intended use of the toothbrush 1, for example, a circle such as a perfect circle or an ellipse, a polygon such as a triangle, a rectangle, a pentagon, or a hexagon, a star, or a three-leaf clover. It can be a special shape such as a four-leaf clover shape.

 The thickness of the hair is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 4 to 8 mil (1 mil = 1/1000 inch = 0.025 mm). The thickness of the hair is the diameter of the contour of the cross section if the cross sectional diameter of the hair is a perfect circle, and the circle circumscribing the contour of the cross section if the cross sectional shape is other than a true circle. Diameter. In addition, all the hairs which comprise the hair | bristle bundle 50 may be the same thickness, and may combine two or more types of hairs with different thickness.

 The toothbrush 1 can be manufactured using a conventionally known flat-wire type flocking device. For example, a handle body in which the flocked hole 30 is formed on the flocked surface 20 is obtained by injection molding, and the hair bundle 50 is implanted in the flocked hole 30 of the obtained handle body using a flat-type flocking device. At this time, since the flat line angle is 30 to 60 °, even if the flock hole 30 is formed at a short distance of 0.3 to 0.8 mm in the width direction distance A1 and the length direction distance A2, the head portion 2 is The bristle bundle 50 can be hardly pulled out without being weakened. In addition, it is difficult to cause cracking or whitening of the head portion 2 at the time of flocking.

As a method for using the toothbrush 1, there is a method in which the head portion 2 is inserted into the oral cavity and reciprocated in the direction of the center line O1 to clean the oral cavity. At this time, since the hair bundles 50 are planted in a lattice shape as a whole, the hair bundles 50 interfere with each other's flexures, exhibit moderately strong furs, and use a good cleaning feeling. Given to a person.
In addition, since the flock holes are close to 0.3 to 0.8 mm, the toothbrush 1 is provided with a good cleaning feeling due to dense hair specifications.

As described above, according to the toothbrush of the present embodiment, the flocked holes are arranged in a lattice shape and the distance between the flocked holes is 0.3 to 0.8 mm, so that a good cleaning feeling can be exhibited.
In addition, according to the toothbrush of the present embodiment, the flat wire angle is set to 30 to 60 °, and the end portions of the adjacent flat wires are separated from each other by an appropriate distance, so that the resin of the head portion is weakened. And high flocking strength can be maintained.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.
In the above-described embodiment, the inferior angle on the head portion base end side is the flat line angle among the angles formed by the flat line direction and the center line, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is shown in FIG. Like the flat line angle θ2 of the toothbrush 100, the minor angle on the head portion tip 22 side formed by the flat line direction P2 and the center line O1 may be a flat line angle.
The flat line angle θ2 is the same as the flat line angle θ1.

 In the above-described embodiment, 30 flock holes are formed on the flocked surface (that is, 30 follicles are planted), but the number of flock holes can be determined in consideration of functions required for the toothbrush. 29 or less, or 31 or more.

 In the above-described embodiment, the flocked holes are formed in 2 × 1 rows and 4 × 7 rows from the front end of the head portion, but the present invention only requires that the flocked holes are arranged in a lattice shape.

 In the above-described embodiment, the shape of the flock hole in plan view is a substantially perfect circle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an ellipse, a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, or the like. It may be square.

 In the above-described embodiment, the hair bundle has a substantially columnar shape, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a columnar shape such as a triangular prism shape, a quadrangular prism shape, or a pentagonal prism shape. Further, the hair bundle may have a shape that decreases in diameter toward the tip.

  In the above-described embodiment, the head portion is substantially rectangular with the center line direction as the longitudinal direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the head portion may have any shape.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example is shown and this invention is demonstrated in detail, this invention is not limited by the following description.
(Materials used)
<Resin for head and handle>
PP-1: J700GP (product name: Idemitsu polypropylene, material: polypropylene, bending strength: 41 MPa, bending elastic modulus: 1400 MPa, manufactured by Idemitsu Petrochemical Co., Ltd.)
PP-2: WP638C (product name: nobrene, material: polypropylene, bending strength: 50 MPa, bending elastic modulus: 1900 MPa, manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.)
PCTA: BR203 (Product name: Easter, bending strength: 68 MPa, flexural modulus: 1900 MPa, manufactured by Eastman Chemical Co.)
<Bristles>
・ Bristles: Nylon straight hair (trade name; tie neck, thickness: 8 mil, manufactured by DuPont)
<Flat line>
Flat wire: Brass (JIS 2 types composition), width 1.5 mm x thickness 0.25 mm x hanging distance; 0.3 mm

Example 1
In accordance with the specifications shown in Table 1, a toothbrush similar to the toothbrush 1 shown in FIG. 1 having a head portion with a thickness of 4.7 mm and a width of 10.5 mm was produced. As shown in FIG. 4A, this toothbrush has a head portion base end side flat line angle θ1 of 30 °. The number of hairs per hair bundle was 10.
About the obtained toothbrush, an external appearance and flocking strength were evaluated, and the result is shown in Table 1.
4A to 4F are partial plan views in which a part of the flocked surface is enlarged, and the illustration of the hair bundle is omitted for convenience of explanation.

(Examples 2, 4, 5, 6)
As shown in FIG. 4B, a toothbrush was produced according to the specifications shown in Table 1 in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the flat line angle θ1 was set to 45 °. About the obtained toothbrush, an external appearance and flocking strength were evaluated, and the result is shown in Table 1.

(Example 3)
As shown in FIG.4 (c), the toothbrush was produced like Example 1 except having made flat line angle (theta) 1 60 degrees. About the obtained toothbrush, an external appearance and flocking strength were evaluated, and the result is shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 1)
As shown in FIG. 4D, a toothbrush was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the flat line direction P1 and the center line O1 were parallel, that is, the flat line angle was 0 °. About the obtained toothbrush, an external appearance was evaluated and the result is shown in Table 1. In addition, about the comparative example 1, since the external appearance evaluation was "x", the flocking strength was not measured.

(Comparative Examples 2, 4, 5, 6)
As shown in FIG. 4 (e), a toothbrush was produced according to the specifications in Table 1 in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the flat line angle θ1 was set to 15 °. About the obtained toothbrush, an external appearance and flocking strength were evaluated, and the result is shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 3)
As shown in FIG. 4F, a toothbrush was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the flat line angle θ1 was 90 °. About the obtained toothbrush, an external appearance was evaluated and the result is shown in Table 1. In Comparative Example 3, since the appearance evaluation was “x”, the flocking strength was not measured.

(Evaluation method)
<Appearance>
The head part of the produced toothbrush was visually confirmed, and those in which no cracking or whitening was observed were evaluated as “◯”, and those in which cracking or whitening was observed were evaluated as “x”.

<Flocking strength>
The flocking strength was measured by measuring the maximum tensile stress (N) until the bunch was removed from the flocked hole using an autograph (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) by grasping one bunch with a dedicated instrument. min). The flocking strength was measured for all hair bundles (30), and the minimum value was listed in the table.

As shown in Table 1, in Examples 1 to 3 to which the present invention was applied, the appearance was “◯” and the flocking strength (minimum value) was 18 N or more. In contrast, in Comparative Examples 1 and 3 in which the flat line angle was 0 ° or 90 °, cracking or whitening was observed in the head portion, and it was clear that the head portion was fragile. In Comparative Example 2 in which the flat line angle was 15 °, the flocking strength (minimum value) was 10N.
That is, in Examples 1 to 3 to which the present invention is applied, the flocking strength (minimum value) is 1.8 times that of Comparative Example 2 in which the flat line angle (15 °) is generally used. It was.
From these results, it was found that, by applying the present invention, the flocking strength can be improved in a head portion made of a resin having a low bending strength such as PP-1.
In addition, in Example 4 to which the present invention was applied, the flocking strength (minimum value) was 1.8 times or more compared to Comparative Example 4 in which a commonly used flat line angle (15 °) was used. .

 In the comparison between Example 5 and Comparative Example 5 and in the comparison between Example 6 and Comparative Example 6, in the head portion formed of a resin having a higher bending strength than PP-1 by applying the present invention. It was also found that the flocking strength can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,100 Toothbrush 2 Head part 3 Handle part 20 Flocked surface 22 Head part tip 30 Flocked hole 40 Flat line 50 Hair bundle O1 Center line P1, P2 Flat line direction θ1, θ2 Flat line angle

Claims (3)

A plurality of flocked holes are formed on the flocked surface of the head part,
The flocked holes are arranged so that the flocked holes overlap in the width direction of the head part, and are arranged so that the flocked holes overlap in the length direction of the head part,
The distance between any flocked hole and any other flocked hole adjacent to this arbitrary flocked hole in the width direction of the head portion is 0.3 to 0.8 mm,
The distance between any flocked hole and any other flocked hole adjacent to this optional flocked hole in the length direction of the head portion is 0.3 to 0.8 mm,
In the flocked hole, a hair bundle of hair is planted by a flat flat wire,
In the plan view, all the flat lines are inclined in the same direction with respect to the length direction of the head part, and an angle formed by the length direction of the flat line and the length direction of the head part is 30 to 60. A toothbrush characterized by being °.   The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the head portion has a bending strength measured according to ISO 178 of 60 MPa or less.   The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an opening diameter of the flock hole is 1.0 to 1.5 mm.

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