JP5081551B2 - Brush manufacturing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a brush manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method in which a flock hole formed obliquely with respect to a flocked surface is provided in a head portion of a brush, and a hair bundle is planted in the flocked hole.

  In general, a toothbrush is manufactured by sequentially flocking hair bundles in a plurality of flock holes formed side by side on the head portion of a brush handle. In addition, when planting hair bundles in the flocking holes, a flat flocking machine that is moved in a direction that can be moved toward and away from the head part of the brush handle is used. The hair bundle to be fed is folded in half, and a flocking device called a flat wire is sandwiched between them and driven into a flocked hole (referred to as a flat wire flocking method).

  By the way, some toothbrushes have hair bundles implanted obliquely with respect to the flocked surface of the head portion (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, the flocking hole is formed obliquely rather than perpendicular to the flocking surface of the head portion. However, in the conventional flat wire transplanter, it may be difficult to properly plant the hair bundle with respect to such an inclined flock hole.

  That is, the conventional flat wire transplanter is designed on the assumption that a hair bundle is planted in a flock hole perpendicular to the flocked surface. For this reason, when trying to plant a hair bundle in an inclined flock hole using a conventional flat line flocking machine, the angle of the axis of the flock hole where the hair bundle can be implanted is perpendicular to the flock surface. On the other hand, about ± 10 ° is the limit. If the flock hole is inclined at an angle larger than that, the tip of the flat wire flocking machine will be abutted diagonally against the flocking surface of the head part. A gap is generated between the peripheral edge portion and it becomes difficult to stably drive the flat wire into the flock hole. In this case, defective hair transplantation such as flying hair, cut hair, and hair loss occurs in a part of the hair bundle planted in the hair transplant hole.

  Therefore, a device for reliably planting the hair bundle in such an inclined flock hole is required. For example, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, in a brush in which a flocked hole is formed obliquely with respect to the flocked surface of the head portion, the above-described flat wire transplanter is arranged between the tip of the flat wire flocking machine and the peripheral edge of the flocked hole. In order to reduce the gap formed, a concave portion that is abutted in parallel with the front end portion of the flat wire flocking machine is provided at the opening peripheral edge of the flocking hole. Thereby, it becomes possible to reduce the gap formed between the front end portion of the flat wire flocking machine butted against the bottom surface of the concave portion and the opening peripheral edge portion of the flocking hole, and to suppress the occurrence of the above-described flocking failure. ing.

  However, when such a concave portion is provided in the peripheral edge of the opening of the flocking hole, the shape of the flocked surface of the head portion becomes complicated, and a mold or the like for processing into such a complicated shape is required. Further, in the case of a toothbrush, there is a drawback that plaque, eating residue, etc. removed in such a recess are easily tolerated and unsanitary.

In addition to the above-described flat-wire flocking method, the hair bundle may be implanted by a heat fusion method in which the lower end of the hair bundle is pressed into a molten resin as a head portion and fixed, or the lower end of the hair bundle is heated. Then, after forming a molten lump, there is an in-mold method in which a molten resin is filled in a cavity of a mold and molded integrally with a head portion. However, each method requires expensive equipment as compared with a general flat wire flocking method, and is inferior in productivity, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-189218

  Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and it is possible to appropriately plant a hair bundle in a flock hole formed obliquely with respect to the flock surface of the head portion. An object of the present invention is to provide a brush manufacturing apparatus and method.

  In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to manufacturing a brush in which a flock hole formed obliquely with respect to the flocked surface is provided in the head portion of the brush, and a hair bundle is implanted in the flocked hole. It is a device that is operated to move in a direction that allows contact with and away from the flocked surface of the head part, and that the hair bundle fed out from the tip part is folded in half, and a flat line is placed between them to drive into the flocked hole. A wire flocking machine and a fixing device for fixing the head of the brush at an angle where the direction in which the flat wire flocking machine sends out the hair bundle and the axial direction of the flocking hole coincide with each other, and the flat wire flocking machine sends out the hair bundle. The end face has a butting surface formed obliquely with respect to the direction, and the hair bundle coincides with the axis of the flocked hole from a state in which this butting surface is butted in parallel with the flocking surface of the head portion fixed to the fixture. A bra characterized by being sent out in a direction and planted in a flock hole It is a manufacturing equipment.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a brush manufacturing method in which a flock hole formed obliquely to the flocked surface is provided in the head portion of the brush, and a hair bundle is planted in the flock hole, Move the flat wire flocking machine in a direction that allows contact with and away from the flocking surface of the part, fold the hair bundle fed from the tip of this flat wire flocking machine in half, and sandwich the flat wire between the flocked holes When using a flat wire flocking machine having a butt face formed obliquely with respect to the direction in which the hair bundle is fed out, the flat wire flocking machine sends out the hair bundle and the axial direction of the flock hole. After fixing the head part of the brush to the fixture at an angle that matches, the hair bundle from the state where the butt surface of the flat wire flocking machine is abutted parallel to the flock surface of the head part in the direction that matches the axis of the flock hole A method of manufacturing a brush characterized by being sent out and planted in a flocking hole A.

As described above, in the present invention, when a hair bundle is implanted in a flock hole formed obliquely with respect to the flocked surface of the head portion using a flat wire flocking machine, hair is attached to the tip of the flat wire flocking machine. A butt face formed obliquely to the direction of feeding the bundle is provided, and the head part of the brush is fixed to the fixing tool at an angle at which the direction in which the flat wire flocking machine sends out the hair bundle and the axial direction of the flocked hole match. .
As a result, the hair bundle can be sent out in a direction coinciding with the axis of the flocked hole from the state in which the butted surface of the flat wire flocking machine is butted in parallel with the flocked surface of the head portion, and can be implanted in the flocked hole. In this case, since there is no gap between the tip of the flat wire transplanter butted against the flocked surface of the head part and the opening peripheral edge of the flocked hole, it is formed obliquely with respect to the flocked surface of the head part. It is possible to appropriately plant hair bundles in the planted holes.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture a brush in which the hair bundle is implanted obliquely with respect to the hair transplantation surface of the head portion while preventing the occurrence of defective hair transplantation.

Hereinafter, a brush manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method 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 easier to understand, portions that become features may be schematically shown for convenience, and the dimensional ratios of the respective components are the same as in practice. Not necessarily.

(toothbrush)
First, the toothbrush 1 shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated as an example of the brush manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of the brush to which this invention is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the toothbrush 1 includes a long handle portion 2, a neck portion 3 extended from one end of the handle portion 2, and a head portion 4 provided at the tip of the neck portion 3. These comprise a brush handle 1A that is integrally formed of a hard resin material.

  Examples of the hard resin material used for the brush handle 1A include polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate, saturated polyester resin, polymethyl methacrylate, cellulose propionate, polyurethane, polyamide, ABS (acrylonitrile). Thermoplastic resin materials such as (tolyl, butadiene, styrene) can be mentioned, but the material is not necessarily limited to these materials.

  In addition, since the handle portion 2 is a portion that is gripped by the user, the grip performance may be improved by partially or entirely covering the handle portion 2 with a flexible resin such as an elastomer. The neck portion 3 is a portion that connects the handle portion 2 and the head portion 4, but the handle portion 2 and the head portion 4 are not necessarily clearly distinguished portions. For this reason, depending on the case, the handle part 2 and the neck part 3 may not be distinguished. As described above, the shape, size, design, and the like of the handle portion 2 and the neck portion 3 are not particularly limited, and can be arbitrarily changed.

  A plurality of hair bundles B are planted on one surface (referred to as a flocked surface) 4a of the head portion 4, and a part of the plurality of hair bundles B is inclined toward the handle portion 2 side. . In FIG. 1, only the inclined hair bundle B is illustrated, and in the following description, the case where the inclined hair bundle B is implanted will be described.

  A plurality of flocking holes 5 in which the hair bundle B is planted are provided on the flocking surface 4a of the head part 4, and these flocking holes 5 are provided to be inclined toward the handle part 2 side. That is, the flocked hole 5 is formed obliquely at a predetermined angle with respect to the flocked surface 4a, and further, the angle formed by the axis of the flocked hole 5 with respect to the perpendicular of the flocked surface 4a (the inclination angle of the flocked hole 5). Is 10 ° or more, in which it is difficult to plant the hair bundle B with the above-described conventional flat hair transplanter.

  In the hair bundle B, a plurality of brushes (filaments) are bundled into the inclined flock hole 5 and folded in half, and a metal retaining tool called a flat wire 6 is sandwiched therebetween and driven. Has been planted by.

The material of the brush is not particularly limited. For example, polyamide (eg, 6-12 nylon, 6-10 nylon), polyester (eg, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polytrimethylene terephthalate), polyolefin (eg, polypropylene) ), And synthetic resin materials such as elastomers (eg, 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.
The longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the brush is usually circular, but is not limited to such a shape. For example, an elliptical shape, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, a hexagonal shape, a star shape, a three-leaf clover shape, and a four-leaf shape. It can be made into arbitrary shapes according to the intended use of the toothbrush 1, such as a clover shape.
In addition, the brush tip shape is a rounded tip, a tapered shape whose outer diameter gradually decreases toward the tip, and a purpose application of the toothbrush 1 such as a spatula shape, a spherical shape, and a tip shape. It can be made into an arbitrary shape according to.
The brush length is preferably 8 mm to 13 mm for adults and 6 mm to 9 mm for children from the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4. The thickness (maximum diameter) of the brush is preferably 0.12 mm to 0.26 mm from the viewpoint of usability in the oral cavity and feeling of use. Further, considering a feeling of use, a feeling of brushing, a cleaning effect, durability, and the like, a plurality of brushes having different thicknesses may be used in any combination.

  On the flocking surface 4a of the head part 4, a plurality of circular flocking holes 5 are usually arranged in a lattice or staggered pattern at predetermined intervals in the length direction or the width direction of the head part 4. The shape, the arrangement, the interval, the combination thereof, and the like of 5 are not particularly limited and can be arbitrarily set.

(Brush manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method)
Next, the case where the said toothbrush 1 is manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of the brush to which this invention is applied is demonstrated.

  For example, the toothbrush 1 is manufactured by sequentially planting the hair bundle B in the plurality of flock holes 5 formed side by side on the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4 using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the toothbrush 1 manufacturing apparatus includes a brush holding mechanism 20 that holds the brush handle 1 </ b> A, and a flocking hole of the head portion 2 of the brush handle 1 </ b> A held by the brush holding mechanism 20. 5 is provided with a flat wire transplanter 40 for planting the hair bundle B.

  The brush holding mechanism 20 includes a fixture 21 that fixes the head portion 4 of the brush handle 1A and a chuck mechanism 22 that grips the neck portion 3 of the brush handle 1A. The chuck mechanism 22 grips the neck portion 3 so that the position of the head portion 4 fixed to the fixture 21 does not shift while the hair unit B is planting the hair bundle B.

  Here, the fixing tool 21 is disposed so as to face the front end portion of the flat hair transplanter 40, and a positioning recess 23 for positioning the head portion 4 is provided on the facing surface. As shown in FIG. 3, the positioning recess 23 is located on the opposite side of the chuck mechanism 22 from the first surface 23a on which the surface of the head portion 4 opposite to the flocked surface 4a is in contact. And a second surface 23b against which the tip of the portion 4 abuts.

Among these, the first surface 23a is fixed to the flat wire flocking machine 40 in order to fix the head part 4 at an angle at which the direction X in which the flat wire flocking machine 40 feeds the hair bundle B and the axial direction of the flocking hole 5 coincide. Is arranged so that the flocked surface 4a of the head part 4 is inclined at the same angle θ ₂ (θ ₁ = θ ₂ ) as the inclination angle θ ₁ of the flocked hole 5 with respect to a line orthogonal to the direction in which the hair bundle B is fed out. , Its tilt has been adjusted. On the other hand, the second surface 23b is substantially perpendicular to the flocked surface 4a, and restricts the movement of the head portion 4 by contacting the tip portion of the head portion 4.

Therefore, in the head portion 4 fixed to the fixing tool 21, the direction X in which the flat wire flocking machine 40 sends out the hair bundle B coincides with the axial direction of the flocked hole 5. On the other hand, the flocked surface 4a is inclined at the same angle θ ₃ (θ ₁ = θ ₃ ) as the inclination angle θ ₁ of the flocked hole 5 with respect to a line orthogonal to the direction X in which the flat wire flocking machine 40 sends out the hair bundle B. It will be.

  The fixing tool 21 is attached to a moving table (not shown), and the moving table moves the fixing tool 21 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the flat hair transplanter 40 sends out the hair bundle B. Thereby, while changing the position of the head part 4 with respect to the flat hair transplanter 40, it is possible to plant the hair bundle B in an arbitrary flock hole 5 to be flocked among the plurality of flock holes 5. In addition, in this invention, it is not fixed to the structure which moves the fixing tool 21 mentioned above, It is fixed to the fixing tool 21 by moving the flat hair transplanter 40 in the direction orthogonal to the direction which sends out the hair | bristle bundle B. It is good also as a structure which changes the position of the flat wire transplanter 40 with respect to the head part 4 further.

  The flat wire flocking machine 40 is moved and operated in a direction X that can be brought into and out of contact with the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4, and the hair bundle B fed from the tip portion 41a is folded in half, and the flat wire 6 is interposed therebetween. A flocking head 41 that drives the flocking hole 5 across the hair, a hair bundle supply mechanism 42 that supplies the hair bundle B to the flocking head 41, and a flat wire supply mechanism 43 that supplies the flat wire 6 to the flocking head 41 are provided. .

  The flocking head 41 is made of a long member that is slidably supported in a direction X that can be brought into and out of contact with the flocking surface 4a of the head portion 4, and has a shape in which the tip end portion 41a becomes gradually thinner. In addition, a guide groove 45 that slidably supports the linear flocking needle 44 is provided on the upper surface portion of the flocking head 41 in the axial direction. Further, a slit 46 penetrating the side surface is provided in the midway portion of the flocking head 41.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a hair bundle guide groove 47 for guiding the hair bundle B supplied from the hair bundle supply mechanism 42 and a flat wire supplied from the flat wire supply mechanism 43 are provided at the tip 41 a of the hair transplantation head 41. Is provided with a flat wire guide groove 48. These guide grooves 47 and 48 are located on the extension line of the guide groove 45 in which the flocking needle 44 mentioned above is slid.

Further, a butt face 49 formed obliquely with respect to the direction X in which the hair bundle B is sent out is provided at the distal end portion 41 a of the flocking head 41. The abutment surface 49 is inclined with respect to a line orthogonal to the direction X of feeding the hair bundle B so that the abutment surface 49 abuts in parallel with the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4 fixed to the fixture 21. ₁ is inclined at the same angle θ ₃ (θ ₁ = θ ₃ ).

  The hair bundle supply mechanism 42 has a picker 50 that can enter the slit 46 from one side surface of the flocking head 41 while swinging in the Y direction shown in FIG. A scraping groove 51 for scraping a predetermined number of hair bundles B from a hair bundle group B ′ supplied on a hair plate (not shown) is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the picker 50. . Further, a guide member 52 along the outer peripheral edge of the picker 50 is disposed between the hair plate and the flocking head 41 so that the hair bundle B scraped off by the scraping groove 51 does not fall off from the scraping groove 51. Is provided. Then, the hair bundle supply mechanism 42 causes the picker 50 to enter the slit 46 from one side surface of the flocking head 41, and supplies the hair bundle B scraped off by the scraping groove 51 to the hair bundle guide groove 47.

  The flat wire supply mechanism 43 supplies the belt-like flat wire 7 ′ wound around the reel 53 from the other side surface of the flocking head 41, and the tip of the supplied flat wire 7 ′ with a cutter (not shown). The flat wire 7 is cut into a predetermined length, and the cut flat wire 7 is supplied to the flat wire guide groove 48.

  In this flat wire flocking machine 40, the flocking needle 44 moves forward in the guide groove 45 toward the tip 41 a of the flocking head 41, so that the flocking needle 44 supplies the flat wire 7 supplied to the flat wire guide groove 48. While pressing, together with the hair bundle B supplied to the hair bundle guide groove 47, it is sent out to the tip 41a of the hair transplantation head 41. The hair bundle B fed from the tip 41a of the hair transplantation head 41 is folded in two by the flat wire 6 and is planted in the hair transplantation hole 5 by driving the flat wire 6 sandwiched therebetween into the hair transplantation hole 5. The

  In the brush manufacturing apparatus having the above-described structure, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, after fixing the head portion 4 of the brush handle 1 </ b> A to the fixture 21, the flat wire transplanter 40 moves the hair transplant head 41 to the head. Advance in the direction approaching the part 4. Then, the flat wire flocking machine 40 sends out the hair bundle B in a direction coincident with the axis of the flocked hole 5 from the state in which the butted surface 49 of the flocking head 41 is butted in parallel with the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4. Plant in the flocking hole 5.

  After the flocking, the flocking head 41 moves backward in a direction away from the head portion 4. Thereby, the hair | bristle bundle B is extracted from the front-end | tip part 41a of the flocking head 41, and returns to the position before flocking again. And in this brush manufacturing apparatus, by performing the flocking operation by the flat wire flocking machine 40 as described above while changing the position of the head portion 4, the hair is made to the plurality of flock holes 5 provided in the head portion 4. It is possible to plant the bundle B sequentially.

  As described above, in the brush manufacturing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, the butt face 49 formed obliquely with respect to the direction in which the hair bundle B is fed is provided at the tip 41a of the flocking head 41, and the flat wire flocking machine 40 is provided. The head portion 4 of the brush handle 1A is fixed to the fixture 21 at an angle at which the direction in which the hair bundle B is fed out and the axial direction of the flock hole 5 coincide.

  Thus, the hair bundle B can be sent out in a direction coinciding with the axis of the flocked hole 5 from the state in which the butted surface 49 of the flocked head 41 is butted in parallel with the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4 and planted in the flocked hole 5. it can. In this case, there is no gap between the tip 41a of the flocking head 41 abutted against the flocked surface 4a of the head 4 and the opening peripheral edge of the flocked hole 5, so that the flocked surface 4a of the head 4 On the other hand, it is possible to appropriately plant the hair bundle B in the flock hole 5 formed obliquely.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, even when the hair bundle B is planted using the flat wire 6 in the flocked hole 5 formed obliquely with respect to the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4, the occurrence of defective flocking is prevented. Is possible. In addition, the toothbrush 1 in which the hair bundle B is obliquely implanted with respect to the flocked surface 4a of the head portion 4 can be manufactured at low cost.

  The present invention is not limited to the case of manufacturing the toothbrush 1 described above, and can be widely applied to the manufacture of a brush in which flocking holes are formed obliquely with respect to the flocking surface of the head portion. In addition, when trying to plant a hair bundle in an inclined flock hole using a conventional flat wire flocking machine, the angle of the axis of the flock hole where the hair bundle can be implanted is relative to the perpendicular of the flocked surface. However, when the present invention is used, the hair bundle can be appropriately implanted in the flock hole even when the angle is more than that.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a brush in which hair bundles are implanted obliquely. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of a brush manufacturing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the hair bundle is implanted in the flock hole of the head portion fixed to the fixture by the flat wire flocking machine shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Toothbrush (brush) 1A ... Brush handle 2 ... Handle part 3 ... Neck part 4 ... Head part 4a ... Flocking surface 5 ... Flocking hole 6 ... Flat wire B ... Hair bundle 20 ... Brush holding mechanism 21 ... Fixing tool 22 ... Chuck Mechanism 23 ... Positioning recess 40 ... Flat wire flocking machine 41 ... Flocking head 41a ... Tip portion 42 ... Hair bundle supply mechanism 43 ... Flat wire supply mechanism 44 ... Flocking needle 49 ... Butting surface 50 ... Picker 52 ... Guide member 53 ... Reel

Claims (2)

A brush manufacturing apparatus in which a flock hole formed obliquely with respect to the flocked surface is provided in the head portion of the brush, and a hair bundle is implanted in the flock hole,
A flat wire flocking machine that is operated to move in a direction that can be moved toward and away from the flocked surface of the head portion, and that folds a bundle of hairs fed out from the tip portion, and drives the flocked hole with a flat wire therebetween When,
A fixing device for fixing the head portion of the brush at an angle at which the direction in which the flat hair transplanter sends out the hair bundle and the axial direction of the flocking hole coincide with each other;
The flat wire flocking machine has a butting surface formed obliquely with respect to the direction in which the hair bundle is fed out, and this butting surface is butted in parallel with the flocking surface of the head portion fixed to the fixing tool. The brush manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that the hair bundle is fed out from the state in a direction coinciding with the axis of the flocked hole and planted in the flocked hole. A brush manufacturing method in which a flock hole formed obliquely with respect to the flocked surface is provided in the head portion of the brush, and a hair bundle is implanted in the flocked hole,
Move the flat wire flocking machine in a direction that allows contact with and away from the flocked surface of the head part, fold the bundle of hairs fed from the tip of this flat wire flocking machine, and sandwich the flat wire between them When driving into the flock hole,
Using a flat wire flocking machine having a butting surface formed obliquely with respect to the direction of feeding out the hair bundle, the direction in which the flat wire flocking machine sends out the hair bundle and the axial direction of the flocked hole are After fixing the head part of the brush to the fixture at a matching angle, the hair bundle is aligned with the axis of the flock hole from the state in which the butting surface of the flat wire flocking machine is butted parallel to the flocking surface of the head part A method for producing a brush, characterized in that the brush is sent out in the direction and planted in the flock hole.

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