JP4854280B2 - toothbrush - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush, and more particularly to a toothbrush in which tufts formed by bundling bristles are respectively implanted in a plurality of flock holes of a flocking table.

  The toothbrush is composed of a plurality of tufts by, for example, implanting and fixing a tuft formed by bundling a plurality of bristles into a plurality of flock holes formed on the flocking table by, for example, driving a flat wire or fusing with heat. It is obtained by forming a brush part. In addition, the toothbrush can efficiently perform appropriate brushing according to the tooth part such as the tooth surface part, the interdental part, the tooth neck part, and the tooth type such as the front tooth and the back tooth. In order to improve the feeling, various ideas have been made on the arrangement of tufts, the overall shape of the brush portion, and the like.

For example, by narrowing the gap in the short direction of the flocked holes than usual and implanting the hair bundle so that the brush tips of adjacent hair bundles are connected continuously and continuously, cleaning the narrow gaps between the teeth and gums A toothbrush with an improved effect is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-11634

  However, the above-mentioned conventional toothbrushes have a narrower spacing in the short direction of the flock holes than usual, so that the flocking density in the short direction becomes excessively high, and the bristles interfere with each other and are difficult to bend. It becomes hard. In addition, since a plurality of hair bundles in which the brush tips are continuously and continuously connected in the short direction are arranged at considerable intervals in the longitudinal direction of the flocking table, a portion where the flocking density is high and a portion where the flocking density is low Will cause a partial bias in bristle flocking density.

  For this reason, according to the conventional toothbrush, although the effect of cleaning the tooth surface due to the portion having a high flocking density is relatively high, the effect of cleaning the tooth gap is not sufficient due to the partial deviation of the flocking density of the bristle. There wasn't.

  The present invention reduces the burden on the gums by increasing the flocking density of the bristle without unevenness over the entire brush part, and has an excellent plaque scraping effect and tooth surface clearance cleaning effect, An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush capable of obtaining a wiping feeling.

The present invention is a toothbrush in which tufts formed by bundling bristles are respectively planted in a plurality of flock holes of a flocking table, and at least 30 to the length of the flocking table along the longitudinal direction from the tip of the flocking table. About flocked part in the range of 80%
(A) The flock hole has a planar shape of a substantially square, a substantially rhombus or a substantially regular hexagon,
(B) The flocked hole in the flocked region with respect to the area of the flocked region with a region surrounded by an annular line connecting the outer edges of the flocked hole arranged on the outermost periphery of the flocked portion as the flocked region of the flocked portion The ratio of the sum of the areas is 40% or more,
(C) A gap of 1 mm or more is maintained between the edges of the adjacent flock holes in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the flocking table,
(D) The shortest distance between the annular line connecting the outer edge of the row of flock holes formed along the longitudinal direction of the flocking table and the annular line connecting the outer edge of the row of flock holes adjacent to the row is 1 mm or less. And
(E) Notch width of one or more flocked holes in the short direction at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction with respect to the maximum width of the flocked region in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the flocking table The above object is achieved by providing a toothbrush having an occupation ratio of 70% or less.

  According to the toothbrush of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden on the gums by increasing the flocking density of the bristle without unevenness over the entire brush part, and also has an excellent plaque removal effect and tooth surface clearance. The cleaning effect, brushing feeling and the like can be obtained.

  A toothbrush 10 according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) is a toothbrush comprising a gripping part (not shown), a flocking table 11, and a neck part 12 connecting them. A plurality of flock holes 13 formed on the flock base 11 of the main body 17 are respectively planted (planted) with a hair bundle (tuft) 15 formed by bundling a plurality of bristles 14 to form a brush portion 16. The

That is, the toothbrush 10 of the first embodiment is a toothbrush in which tufts 15 formed by bundling bristles 14 are respectively implanted in a plurality of flock holes 13 of a flock base 11 of a toothbrush body 17, and the flock base 11 About the flocked part A in the range of 30 to 80% of the length N of the flocked table 11 along the longitudinal direction X from the tip of
(A) The flock hole 13 has a planar shape of a substantially square, a substantially rhombus or a substantially regular hexagon,
(B) A region surrounded by an annular line 18A (see FIG. 2A) connecting the outer edges of the flocked hole 13 arranged on the outermost periphery of the flocked portion A is defined as a flocked region 19A of the flocked portion A, The ratio of the total area of the flock holes 13 to the area of the flocked region 19A is 40% or more,
(C) A gap s of 1 mm or more is held between the edges of the adjacent flock holes 13 in the short direction Y perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X of the flocking table 11.
(D) An annular line 18L formed along the longitudinal direction X of the flocking table 11 and connecting the outer edge of the row L of the flocked hole 13 and the outer edge of the row L of another flocked hole 13 adjacent to the row L The shortest distance d of the connected annular line 18L is 1 mm or less (see FIG. 2B),
(E) The short direction at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction X with respect to the maximum width W (see FIG. 2A) of the flocked region 19A in the short direction Y perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X of the flocking table 11. The occupation ratio of the notch width w of one or two or more flock holes 13 of Y is 70% or less.

  In the first embodiment, the toothbrush body 17 is made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene or ABS resin, and the flat surface of the flocking table 11 corresponds to the arrangement positions of the tufts 15 and is described later. A large number (a plurality) of flock holes 13 having a substantially square planar shape with an arrangement pitch of, for example, are formed with a depth of 2 to 5 mm. In each flock hole 13, tufts 15 are preferably implanted by a method of driving a flat wire 30 so that the hair height which is the height from the surface of the flocking table 11 is preferably 5 to 15 mm, A substantially flat tip brush surface is formed.

  The bristle 14 constituting each tuft 15 is a filament material having a thickness of, for example, 6 to 10 mil (0.15 to 0.25 mm) made of a synthetic material such as nylon or a natural material such as pig hair. The tuft 15 is formed by bundling, for example, dozens to dozens. In the first embodiment, the tip portion of the bristle 14 has a tapered shape, preferably by performing a taper process.

  In the first embodiment, the flock holes 13 in which the tufts 15 are implanted each have a size of, for example, 1 to 3.5 mm in length and width, preferably 1.5 to 3 mm in length and width, and more preferably 2 to 2.5 mm in length and width. The corner portion has a substantially square shape chamfered in an arc shape, and one of the diagonal lines is arranged along the longitudinal direction X of the flocking table 11, and is connected to the longitudinal direction X so as to be 3 A total of 16 columns are formed. Moreover, the flock holes 13 in each row are arranged so as to be positioned between adjacent flock holes 13 in adjacent rows, and are arranged in a staggered manner.

  And in this 1st Embodiment, it exists in the range of 30 to 80% of the length N (length from a front-end | tip to the inflection point of the neck part 12) of the flocking base 11 along the longitudinal direction X from the front-end | tip of the flocking base 11. The flocked portion A composed of the remaining 13 flocked holes 13 excluding the flocked holes 13 at the tip 3 of the flocked table 11 is tied to the outer edge of the flocked hole 13 arranged on the outermost periphery of the flocked portion A. The ratio of the total area of the flock holes 13 to the area of the flocked region 19A surrounded by the annular line 18A is 40% or more, preferably 40 to 60%, and more preferably 40 to 55%. By setting the ratio of the total area of the flock holes 13 to the area of the flocked region 19A to be 40% or more, an excellent plaque scraping effect, tooth surface cleaning effect, brushing feeling, and the like can be obtained. Moreover, by setting it as 60% or less, the space which the bristle 14 can move freely further is made, and it is advantageous at the point from which the cleaning effect of the outstanding clearance gap is acquired.

  Moreover, in this 1st Embodiment, the space | interval s of 1 mm or more is hold | maintained in the transversal direction Y between the edge parts of the flock hole 13 adjacent about the flock part A at any position. Here, the interval s in the short direction Y between the edges of the adjacent flock holes 13 is drawn at an arbitrary position in the long direction X when a virtual straight line zz is drawn in the short direction Y perpendicular thereto. And the length between the edges of the adjacent flock holes 13 along the straight line zz. Since the space s of 1 mm or more is maintained in the short direction Y at any position between the edges of the adjacent flock holes 13, a space where the bristle 14 can move between the flock holes 13 in the short direction Y can be secured. The bristle 14 can easily reach the gap portion during the cleaning.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, an annular line 18L connecting the outer edges of the row L of the flock holes 13 formed along the longitudinal direction X of the flock base 11 and a row of another flock hole 13 adjacent to the row L. Since the shortest distance d of the annular line 18L connecting the outer edges of L is 1 mm or less, it is possible to effectively avoid occurrence of unpolished. The annular line 18L and the adjacent annular line 18L may partially overlap each other, and the shortest distance d in the short direction Y (the overlapping area) of the area where the annular line 18L and the adjacent annular line 18L overlap. In the case where the maximum width is expressed by a negative value, the shortest distance d may be -1.5 to 1 mm.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, 1 in the short direction Y at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction X with respect to the maximum width W of the flocked region 19A in the short direction Y perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X of the flocking table 11. Or the occupation rate of the notch width w of the two or more flock holes 13 is 70% or less. Here, the notch width w of one or two or more flock holes 13 in the short direction Y is obtained when an imaginary straight line ZZ is drawn in the short direction Y at an arbitrary position in the long direction X. The straight line ZZ is the length w of the portion that overlaps the flocked hole 13 (when the straight line ZZ overlaps the plurality of flocked holes 13, it is the length obtained by adding the length w of each overlapping portion). The occupation ratio of the notch width w in the short direction Y with respect to the maximum width W of the flocked region 19A in the short direction Y is 1 or a virtual straight line ZZ drawn in the short direction Y with respect to the maximum width W is 1 or It is the ratio of the length w of the part which overlaps with the two or more flock holes 13.

  The occupation ratio of the notch width w of one or more flocked holes 13 in the short direction Y at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction X with respect to the maximum width W of the flocked region 19A in the short direction Y is 70% or less. As a result, a sufficient space for the bristle 14 to move between the flock holes 13 in the short direction Y can be secured, and the tuft 15 can support each other at the time of brushing so that the bristle 14 can easily reach the gap portion.

  Moreover, the center arrangement | positioning pitch between the flock holes 13 adjacent to the longitudinal direction X in each row | line | column of the flocking table 11 is 2-4 mm, for example, Preferably it is 2.5-3.5 mm.

  Therefore, the toothbrush 10 according to the first embodiment has no unevenness of the bristle 14 throughout the entire portion excluding the tufts 15 at the three ends of the brush portion 16, and the flocking density of the bristle 14 is substantially uniform. Thus, for example, a toothbrush that can reduce the burden on the gums due to variations in the degree of contact of the brush surface with the gums, tooth surfaces, etc., and that can polish to the gap without leaving the tooth surfaces to be polished is formed.

  In addition, according to the first embodiment, the flock hole 13 has a substantially square shape, and by arranging the diagonal of the substantially square in parallel with the longitudinal direction X of the flocking table 11, The bristle 14 is not biased over the entire portion excluding the tufts 15 at the three ends of the brush portion 16, and the toothbrush 10 in which the bristles 14 have a high flocking density can be easily formed.

  Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, since the bristle 14 constituting the tuft 15 has a tapered tip, the feel of the brush portion 16 having a high flocking density of the bristle 14 is softened. Therefore, a toothbrush suitable for middle-aged and older users who have weakened gums can be constructed.

  In addition, the flocking specification of the flocked part B other than the flocked part A, for example, the arrangement and the planar shape of the flocked holes 13 at the three tips of the flocked table 11 in the first embodiment, and the bristle planted in the flocked hole 13 Although there are no particular limitations on the flocking specifications such as the shape of 14, from the viewpoint of reducing the burden on the gums, etc., at the time of wiping without unevenness of flocking density according to the flocking specifications of the flocked part A It is preferable that the feel is a soft specification.

  3 and 4 show a toothbrush 20 according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The toothbrush 20 of the second embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the toothbrush 10 of the first embodiment, while the brush surface 21 connecting the tips of the bristles 14 constituting the tuft 15 is short of the flocking table 11. When viewed from the side facing the hand direction Y, it has a flat μ-shaped concave shape that is curved in an arc shape with a radius of curvature of preferably 20 to 40 mm, with both ends being the top (see FIG. 3). And when it sees from the front end side which opposes the longitudinal direction X of the flocking table 11, Preferably it becomes the mountain-shaped convex shape of the top angle of 25-35 degree | times which makes a center part a top part.

  The toothbrush 10 according to the second embodiment also provides substantially the same operational effects as the toothbrush 10 according to the first embodiment. Further, the brush surface 21 connecting the tip ends of the bristle 14 has a concave shape that is curved in an arc shape with the both end portions as tops when viewed from the side surface side, and the center portion when viewed from the tip side. Since it has a convex shape at the top, combined with the high density density of bristles 14 on the brush part 16, compared with the case where small irregularities are provided on the brush surface like a mountain cut. As a result, it is possible to obtain a feeling that the brush surface 21 can be fully polished while closely contacting the brush surface 21, and a feeling that fits the boundary between the dentition and the gums. Further, by making the tip of the bristle 14 have a tapered shape, it is possible to obtain a feeling that is easy on the gums, and to further improve the feeling that it can be polished all over, or the feeling that fits the boundary between the dentition and the gums. .

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, the tuft does not necessarily need to be planted in the flock hole through a flat wire, and may be planted by fusion flocking or the like. Further, it is not always necessary that the bristle constituting the tuft be a tapered bristle.

  Hereinafter, although the toothbrush of this invention is demonstrated in detail by an Example and a comparative example, this invention is not limited to these.

[Example 1, Comparative Examples 1-3]
A toothbrush having the same configuration as the toothbrush 20 of the second embodiment was used as the toothbrush of Example 1. Comparison of commercially available toothbrushes with the flock holes arranged as shown in Table 1 (trade name “Check Wari Soft” manufactured by Kao Corporation, product name “Bitoine” Lion, and product name “Dow Power” manufactured by Sunstar) It was set as the toothbrush of Examples 1-3. With respect to the toothbrushes of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3, with respect to the flocked portion in the range of at least 30 to 80% of the length of the flocked table along the longitudinal direction from the tip of the flocked table, the flocked region of the flocked portion The ratio of the total area of flock holes to the area of the flock (average flocking density), the distance between holes in the short direction, and the annular line connecting the outer edges of the rows of flock holes along the longitudinal direction and the outer edges of adjacent rows Calculate the maximum occupation ratio (maximum density in the short direction) of the notch width in the short direction of the flocked hole with respect to the shortest distance from the annular line and the maximum width of the flocked region in the short direction of the flocking table, and The model was evaluated by this method.

[Model evaluation method]
As shown in FIG. 5, an interdental model 40 made of aluminum blocks in which the curved surfaces of R4 face each other is created, and a video tape magnetic layer 41 is attached to the surface of the interdental model 40 as a plaque model. As the video tape, Seiyu Private Brand's “S'RIBBON” standard type (120 minutes, model number 3T-120SR) ”is used. The created interdental model 40 is brushed by each toothbrush using a brushing machine, and after the brushing, the video tape magnetic layer 41 is developed and photographed with a digital camera and image analysis is performed. The cleaning conditions are a load of 200 g, a speed of 60 rpm, an amplitude of 30 mm, and a frequency of 300 times, and Apaguard M Plus (trade name, manufactured by Sangi) as a polishing accelerator is used as a toothpaste. As the image analysis software, WinROOF was used, and after forming a gray image, a portion where the magnetic layer was peeled off and whitened was evaluated as a portion where plaque was removed. An evaluation result is shown in Drawing 6 (a)-(d).

  According to the evaluation results shown in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (d), the toothbrush of Example 1 according to the present invention has a high average density of bristles, and the density is not biased. It turns out that well delivered. Moreover, since the toothbrush of the comparative example 1 has a low average flocking density, it turns out that there is much unpolished as a whole. Furthermore, since the toothbrush of the comparative example 2 has the density of a transversal direction too high, it turns out that a bristle does not enter between teeth easily. Furthermore, since the toothbrush of the comparative example 3 has many spaces which are not flocked to the longitudinal direction, it turns out that there are much unpolished inside on the rear end side.

It is a principal part perspective view of the toothbrush which concerns on preferable 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a principal part top view of the toothbrush which concerns on preferable 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a principal part top view explaining the cyclic | annular line which tied the outer edge of the row of flock holes along a longitudinal direction. . It is a principal part side view of the toothbrush which concerns on preferable 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part front view of the toothbrush which concerns on preferable 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of a model evaluation method. (A)-(d) is the analysis figure which image-analyzed the evaluation result of the model evaluation method.

Explanation of symbols

10,20 Toothbrush 11 Flocking table 12 Neck part 13 Flocking hole 14 Bristle 15 Tuft (hair bundle)
16 Brush part 17 Toothbrush main body 18A Annular line 18L which tied the outer edge of the flock hole arranged in the outermost periphery in the flocked part A An annular line 19A which tied the outer edge of the row of flocked holes A flocked area 21 of the flocked part A Brush surface A, B Flocking part X Longitudinal direction Y of flocking table Y Short direction of flocking table

Claims (4)

A tuft formed by bundling bristles is a toothbrush that is implanted in each of a plurality of flock holes of a flocking table, and ranges from 30 to 80% of the length of the flocking table along the longitudinal direction from the tip of the flocking table About the flocked part in
(A) The flock hole has a planar shape of a substantially square, a substantially rhombus or a substantially regular hexagon,
(B) A region surrounded by an annular line connecting the outer edges of the flocked hole arranged on the outermost periphery of the flocked portion is defined as a flocked region of the flocked portion, and the total area of the flocked holes with respect to the area of the flocked region The percentage is 40-60% ,
(C) A gap of 1 mm or more is maintained between the edges of the adjacent flock holes in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the flocking table,
(D) The shortest distance between the annular line connecting the outer edge of the row of flock holes formed along the longitudinal direction of the flocking table and the annular line connecting the outer edge of the row of flock holes adjacent to the row is 1 mm or less. And
(E) Notch width of one or more flocked holes in the short direction at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction with respect to the maximum width of the flocked region in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the flocking table A toothbrush with an occupancy of 70% or less.   The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the flock hole has a substantially square or approximately rhombic planar shape, and diagonal lines of the approximately square or approximately rhombus are arranged in parallel to the longitudinal direction.   The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the bristle that forms the tuft has a tapered shape. The brush surface connecting the tips of the bristles constituting the tuft is a μ-shaped or U-shaped concave that curves in an arc shape with both ends as tops when viewed from the side facing the short direction of the flocking table. has a shape, and the bristles stand longitudinally opposite to any one of the mountain-shaped or claims 1-3 which is the arcuate convex shape to the top portion of the central portion when viewed from the tip side Toothbrush as described in.

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