JP3148931U - toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

Toothbrushes using tapered bristles provide a toothbrush that is less painful to teeth and has a good feeling of use, and is excellent in the pull-out strength of the hair bundle. A hair bundle 3 of a taper bristles 4 having a head portion 2 provided with a plurality of flocking holes 6 on a flocked surface 2a, and the diameter of each flocking hole 6 of the head portion 2 becoming narrower toward the hair tip. Is a toothbrush in which a plurality of flock holes 6 have a tapered shape in which the diameter gradually decreases from the upper surface opening toward the bottom surface. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of a toothbrush using a taper bristles.

  In recent years, various oral cleaning tools, oral cleaning agents, and the like have been developed due to an increase in hygiene orientation. Moreover, in the toothbrush which is an intraoral cleaning tool, various devices for improving the plaque removal effect in details such as the tooth surface, the neck portion, and the interdental portion have been conventionally performed. For example, a toothbrush that uses tapered bristles that have a diameter that decreases toward the bristles can improve the cleanability of the tooth gap.

  By the way, when the conventional straight hair is planted in the planting hole, the planting is performed so that the hair bundle does not spread in order to obtain a toothbrush with good usability. On the other hand, when the hair for taper is planted in the flock hole, if the hair is planted so that the hair bundle does not spread like the straight hair, the tip of the hair is in contact with the tooth and toothpick. A problem arises that the tooth enters the gap intensively and the toothpick is likely to be painful.

  For this reason, when the hair for taper is planted in the flock hole, conventionally, the number of hair bundles to be planted in the flock hole is increased so that the hair bundle can be easily spread. However, when the number of hair bundles to be planted in the flock holes increases, there arises a problem that cracks are likely to occur around the flock holes at the time of flocking. Further, since the taper hair is more likely to enter the gap between the teeth than the straight hair, there is a problem that the hair is caught in the gap between the teeth during the cleaning, and the hair is easily removed.

  In general, the hair bundle planted in the flocking hole has a lower pulling strength (tensile strength when pulling out one taper hair located on the outer periphery of the flocking hole) in the thin hair than in the thick hair. . Further, the taper hair has a lower pulling strength than the straight hair.

On the other hand, toothbrushes with increased hair bundle pullout strength have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). However, toothbrushes using tapered bristles not only increase the pull-out strength of the hair bundle, but also need to prevent the hair tips from intensively entering the gap between the teeth and the toothpick. It is necessary to devise such that the hair bundles that are easily spread.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-145123 JP-A-4-261605 JP-A-5-68328 JP 2005-185399 A

  The present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and in a toothbrush using a taper bristles, there is little pain against tooth cracks, and the feeling of use is good, and the pull-out strength of the hair bundle is excellent. An object is to provide a toothbrush.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
That is, the device according to claim 1 is a toothbrush comprising a head portion provided with a plurality of flock holes on the flocked surface, and a bristles of taper hairs are implanted in each flock hole of the head portion. The toothbrush is characterized in that the plurality of flock holes have a tapered shape in which the diameter gradually decreases from the upper surface opening toward the bottom surface.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the side surface forming the tapered shape of the flocked hole is in the range of 1 to 3 ° with respect to the perpendicular of the flocked surface. is there.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a protrusion for preventing the hair bundle from coming off is provided on a side surface of the flock hole.

  Further, the invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the hair bundle is planted by bundling a plurality of taper hairs and folding them into two, and driving them into the flock holes with a flat wire therebetween. It is a toothbrush as described in any one of Claims 1-3.

  As mentioned above, in the toothbrush which concerns on Claim 1 of this invention, the hair | bristle bundle planted by the flock hole is made into the taper shape which a diameter gradually becomes thin toward a bottom face from the upper surface opening part in several flock holes. Will spread moderately. As a result, the tip of the taper hair can be prevented from intensively entering the gap between the teeth and the toothpick, resulting in a good feeling of use with less pain against the toothpick and increasing the pull-out strength of the hair bundle. be able to.

  Moreover, in the toothbrush which concerns on Claim 2 of this invention, the hair planted in the flock hole is made into the range of 1-3 degrees with respect to the perpendicular of a flock surface by making the angle of the side surface which makes the tapered shape of a flock hole into. It is possible to optimize the spread of the bundle, reduce the pain against tooth cracking, improve the pull-out strength of the hair bundle, and prevent flocking.

  Moreover, in the toothbrush which concerns on Claim 3 of this invention, the removal strength of the hair | bristle bundle planted in the flock hole can further be heightened by providing the projection part which becomes a hair bundle's removal prevention in the side surface of a flock hole. .

  Further, in the toothbrush according to claim 4 of the present invention, when the hair bundle is folded in half and a flat wire is sandwiched between the two, the problem is that cracks are likely to occur around the flock hole. Can be prevented.

Hereinafter, a toothbrush to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the drawings used in the following description, in order to make the features easy to understand, there are cases in which the portions that become the features are schematically shown for convenience, and the dimensional ratios of the respective components are not always the same as the actual ones. Absent. Moreover, illustration of a hair | bristle bundle may be abbreviate | omitted depending on the case, and only the flock hole in which a hair | bristle bundle is flocked shall be shown.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a toothbrush 1 to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1 shows a head portion 2 provided at the tip of a brush handle (not shown) as a characteristic part of the toothbrush 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the toothbrush 1 includes a head portion 2 at the tip of a brush handle formed of a hard resin material. Examples of the hard resin material used for the brush handle include polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate, saturated polyester resin, polymethyl methacrylate, cellulose propionate, polyurethane, polyamide, ABS (acrylonitrile). (Butadiene / Styrene) and the like may be mentioned, but the material is not necessarily limited to these materials. Further, the shape, size, design, and the like of the handle portion connected to the head portion 2 of the brush handle are not particularly limited, and can be arbitrarily changed.

  The head part 2 may be any shape that can easily clean the inside of the oral cavity, and is usually formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with a thickness of about 2 to 6 mm. A plurality of hair bundles 3 are implanted on one surface (referred to as a flocked surface) 2a of the head portion 2.

  Each bristle bundle 3 is constituted by taper bristles 4 as shown in FIG. 2 in which the diameter gradually decreases from the central part toward the bristles at both ends. Specifically, the material of the taper hair 4 is not particularly limited. For example, polyamide (eg, 6-12 nylon, 6-10 nylon), polyester (eg, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate). , Polytrimethylene terephthalate), polyolefin (e.g., polypropylene), and elastomer (e.g., olefins and styrenes). A plurality of these resin materials may be used in combination. For example, different resin materials may be used for the core and the sheath, such as a core-sheath structure. Among them, the taper bristles 8 have a hair tip tapered by immersing and dissolving hair (filament) made of polybutylene terephthalate cut to a predetermined length in an alkaline hydrolysis treatment agent. It is preferable to use it.

  In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the taper bristles 4 is preferably circular, but is not necessarily limited to such a shape. For example, an ellipse, a polygon (for example, a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, etc.) .), Etc. (for example, a star shape, a three-leaf clover shape, a four-leaf clover shape, etc.), etc., and can have any shape according to the intended use of the toothbrush 1. Further, the taper bristles 4 may be formed in a spiral shape or provided with embossing or the like.

  The hair length of the taper hair 4 is preferably 8 mm to 13 mm for adults and 6 mm to 9 mm for children from the flocked surface 2 a of the head portion 2. The thickness (maximum diameter) of the taper bristles 4 is preferably 0.15 mm to 0.25 mm from the viewpoint of usability in the oral cavity and usability. Further, in consideration of a feeling of use, a feeling of cleaning, a cleaning effect, durability, and the like, a plurality of taper hairs 4 having different thicknesses may be used in any combination.

  Each of the bristles 3, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3, bundles a plurality of taper bristles 4 and folds them in half, and sandwiches a retaining member called a flat wire 5 between them, (Flocked surface) It is planted by driving into a flocked hole 6 provided in 2a.

  The flat wire 5 passes through the center of the flocked hole 6 and is placed in the flocked hole 6 so as to straddle the flocked hole 6. Examples of the material of the flat wire 5 include metals such as brass and stainless steel, and other examples include hard plastic and biodegradable plastic. The flat wire 5 has a length larger than the diameter of the flocked hole 6 and a width smaller than the depth of the flocked hole 6. Further, the length, width, and thickness of the flat wire 5 may be arbitrarily adjusted according to the hair bundle 3 and the flock hole 6. In particular, by adjusting the thickness of the flat wire 5, the hair bundle 3 can be reliably fixed in the flock hole 6 and the gap can be reduced. Moreover, in order to prevent the flat wire 5 from coming off from the flocking hole 6, it is preferable that the sum total of the length of the part (placed part) which protruded from the flocking hole 16 of the both ends is 0.3-0.6 mm. .

  On the flocked surface 2a of the head part 2, a plurality of circular flocked holes 6 are usually arranged in a lattice or staggered pattern at predetermined intervals in the length direction or the width direction of the head part 2. There is no particular limitation on the arrangement and interval of 6, combinations thereof, and the like, and any change can be made according to the intended use of the toothbrush 1. It is preferable that the depth of the flocked hole 6 is 3 to 4 mm, the diameter of the flocked hole 6 is 1.5 to 2.5 mm, and the interval between the adjacent flocked holes 6 is 0.5 to 1.5 mm. Further, the cross-sectional shape of the flock hole 6 is usually circular according to the shape of the hair bundle 3 in which the above-described taper hair 4 is bundled, but is not limited to such a shape, and the above-described taper. It can be made into arbitrary shapes according to the shape of the hair | bristle bundle 3 which bundled the hair 4 for hair. Further, the bottom surface of the flock hole 6 may have a cross-sectional shape other than a chamfered planar shape, for example, a semicircular shape or a rectangular shape.

  By the way, in the toothbrush 1 to which the present invention is applied, as shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of flocking holes 6 provided on the flocking surface 2 a of the head portion 2 gradually decrease in diameter from the upper surface opening toward the bottom. Has a tapered shape.

  In this case, the hair bundle 3 implanted in the flock hole 6 spreads moderately along the side surface of the flock hole 6 that forms the tapered shape. Thereby, in the toothbrush 1 to which the present invention is applied, it is possible to prevent the bristles of the taper bristles 4 constituting the bristles 3 from entering intensively into the gap between the teeth and the toothbrush, and during the cleaning, the teeth It is possible to obtain a good feeling of use with less pain for gummy.

  Moreover, in this toothbrush 1, the flock hole 6 is made into a taper shape, thereby increasing the flocking density (the total cross-sectional area of the follicle with respect to the cross-sectional area of the flock hole) in the lower part of the bristles 3 planted in the flock hole 6. It is possible to improve the pull-out strength of the hair bundle 3.

  In addition, when the flock hole 6 is made into a taper shape, the mold release property at the time of shape | molding the brush handle mentioned above also becomes good. Moreover, it is preferable that the shape of the protrusion 7 is a shape that does not cause an undercut from the viewpoint of releasability.

  Moreover, the angle (referred to as the taper angle) θ of the side surface forming the tapered shape of the flocked hole 6 may be in the range of 1 to 3 ° with respect to the perpendicular of the flocked surface 2a as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. preferable. Thereby, the spreading condition of the hair bundle 3 planted in the flock hole 6 can be optimized, and it is possible to reduce the pain to the toothpick, improve the pull-out strength of the hair bundle, and prevent flocking. .

  Furthermore, in the toothbrush 1 to which the present invention is applied, as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which a protruding portion 7 that prevents the hair bundle 3 from coming off is provided on the side surface of the flock hole 4. Specifically, the protrusions 7 are formed so as to protrude from the side surface of the flock hole 4 in the circumferential direction, and are provided in a row while being continuous in the depth direction.

  In the toothbrush 1 to which the present invention is applied, it is possible to further increase the pull-out strength of the bristles 3 implanted in the flock holes 6 by providing the protrusions 7 that prevent the bristles 3 from coming off. . In order to increase the pull-out strength of the hair bundle 3, it is more effective that the protrusion 7 is positioned below a substantially middle portion in the depth direction of the flock hole 6. In addition, the shape and number of the protrusions 7 are not limited to the shape shown in FIG.

  In addition, this invention is applicable not only to what was applied to the said toothbrush 1, but the electrically driven electric toothbrush, its replacement brush, etc., for example.

  Hereinafter, the effect of the present invention will be made clearer by examples. In addition, this invention is not limited to a following example, In the range which does not change the summary, it can change suitably and can implement.

(Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3)
In this example, first, as shown in Table 1, toothbrushes of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 having different flock holes were produced.

  A brush handle made of polypropylene (PP) resin was used for each toothbrush. Further, circular flocking holes are arranged on the flocking surface of the head portion in a line of 3 columns / 4 columns × 6 rows / 3 columns (30 holes in total) from the tip side. Moreover, the space | interval of each flocked hole is length direction / width direction = 2.5mm / 2.2mm. Each flocked hole has a diameter of 1.5 mm (upper end opening) and a depth of 3.8 mm. As the hair bundle, taper hair made of polybutylene terephthalate resin (central portion maximum diameter 0.190 mm) was used, and the number of hair bundles was 21 / hole. The flat wire is made of brass and is 0.25 × 1.5 × 2.0 mm.

  Moreover, the shape of the flock hole in the toothbrush of Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-3 is as showing to Fig.5 (a)-(d). That is, in FIG. 5, (a) shows a tapered flocked hole A whose diameter gradually decreases from the top opening to the bottom. (B) is a flocking hole B in which a plurality of protrusions are provided on the side surface of the flocking hole A. (C) is a flocking hole C having a constant diameter (taper angle θ = 0 °) from the upper surface opening to the bottom surface. In (d), the diameter is constant (taper angle θ = 0 °) from the upper surface opening to the middle in the depth direction, and the diameter reduced from the middle to the bottom is constant (taper angle θ). = 0 °).

  And about the toothbrushes of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6, evaluation tests of “toothache pain”, “hair loss strength”, and “flocking crack” were performed, and “overall evaluation” was performed. . The evaluation results are shown in Table 2 below.

In addition, with respect to “toothache pain”, sensory evaluation was conducted by 10 expert panelists, and the average of the evaluations of each paneler according to the following 7 levels was used.
<Evaluation criteria>
7… “No pain at all”
6… “almost no pain”
5 ... “No pain”
4 ... "I can't say either"
3… “Slightly painful”
2… “It ’s pretty painful”
1… “Very painful”

  As for “hair loss strength”, the tensile strength (Max / Min) [N] when one hair for taper located on the outer periphery of the flock hole is extracted using a tensile compression tester manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation. did.

  “Flocking” was evaluated from the occurrence rate (%) of cracks when 1,000 toothbrushes were produced.

  From the evaluation results shown in Table 2, compared with the electric toothbrushes of Comparative Examples 1 to 3, the electric toothbrushes of Examples 1 to 3 have “toothache pain”, “hair removal strength”, and “flocking crack”. Since all the evaluations showed good results, good results were obtained for the comprehensive evaluation.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a toothbrush to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of taper hair. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a hair bundle planted in a flock hole. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the flock hole. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the shape of each flock hole shown in the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Toothbrush 2 ... Head part 2a ... Flocking surface 3 ... Hair bundle 4 ... Taper hair 5 ... Flat wire 6 ... Flocking hole 7 ... Protrusion part

Claims (4)

A toothbrush comprising a head portion provided with a plurality of flock holes on the flocked surface, and a bristles of taper hair is implanted in each flock hole of the head portion,
The plurality of flocked holes have a tapered shape in which the diameter gradually decreases from the top opening toward the bottom.   The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein an angle of a side surface forming a tapered shape of the flocked hole is in a range of 1 to 3 ° with respect to a perpendicular to the flocked surface.   The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a projection that serves to prevent the hair bundle from coming off is provided on a side surface of the flock hole.   The hair bundle is planted by bundling a plurality of taper hairs, folding the hair into two, and driving it into the flock hole with a flat wire therebetween. The toothbrush according to one item.

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